Demons Etc
by NightElfCrawler
Summary: Oh my god she's updating after almost 4 years! In the 1920's and 30's Detectives are busy exorcising demons, spirits, and more... a young woman named Rosette searches for her brother, and takes employment under a man named Chrno...
1. That Which Lurks Below

**Demons Etc.**

_Chapter One: That Which Lurks Below_

_Authors new note: Good grief... you mean... she lives? Oh yes. Fear me. I'm retouching this fic, almost 4 years after I started it. Forgive me, real life problems, lack of inspiration and stuff got in the way, but... I'm back! Look for changes and complete revisions after Chapter 6! I'm touching up a few things each chapter, then re-working it completely starting with Magdalena's scene. Hope you enjoy! _

_Author's note: _Please read this to avoid confusion _Ok so this fic was originally an interactive fic between Blueberry Lattice and myself, and since we've both been busy with respective things, it was put on hold for a while. Now, it's evolved into TWO separate versions. The original, which Blueberry Lattice will post under her name, and the alternate, which I'm writing here So if you're curious on the differences, read both. The first chapter here is mostly the same as the 1st chapter on the other, but I've added some stuff in the end, and changed a few things around. so please make sure to read it all the way through. OK? No confusion? Good on with the fic!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! Moriyama-sensei does. Blame him!_

* * *

It was rather exhausting, running the most successful detective agency in New York City… Exhilarating, exciting, and rewarding, but tiring indeed.

A pair of black boots lounged over the edge of the desk, attached to a pair of long legs in simple black pants, which in turn were connected to a smartly belted waist, with a white starched shirt, suspenders, and loose tie around the collar. A coat hung on the coat rack in the corner, but the fedora hat sat upon its owner's head, as his head slumped against his chest, while he leaned back in his chair taking a short snooze.

He ran the most successful private detective agency in New York, yes, but on the side he also participated in demon, ghost, and spook exorcisms with the help of a few choice individuals. It was a very lucrative job to say the least, and it also helped him keep busy while he sought after his own goals.

The door slammed open. "Sir!"

With a start, the chair tilted backwards, sending its occupant sprawling backwards onto the floor of the high rise office building.

The man who had just entered looked a bit embarrassed, but leaned over the desk, his blue eyes worried. "You ok, boss?"

The fedora tilted back as the detective lifted his head, his purple hair in disarray, and his crimson eyes wide from surprise. "Ah, yeah, sorry about that Ewan…" He managed to untangle his limbs from the tilted chair, and stand up, brushing himself off, with a lopsided grin.

Ewan Remington, assistant private eye shook his head at his boss's ludicrous actions. "You should see about fixing that chair sometime…one of these days you're going to fall right out the window."

The Detective laughed, and righted the chair. "Well, at least it would give me some fresh air."

Ewan made a face, but put the folders in his arms down on the desk, brushing his blond hair out of his eyes, and straightening his tie which had been knocked loose in the process of running in. "We have a potential situation on the West side. A client called and asked that we come take a look at a poltergeist."

The Detective looked thoughtful. "What are the symptoms?"

"Furniture knocking over, sounds in the night, eerie laughter. All classic signs." Remington nodded, smoothing out his brown suit methodically. He was one of the types who was always looking for perfection. He'd come to Demons Etc. as a rookie, looking to make his stand in the busy world. He had quite a mystery about him, but had been enthusiastic and perfect for the job. The Detective couldn't have asked for a better partner.

"Right. I'll pay a house call first." He grabbed his long trench coat, and slipped it on, for it was a rather blustery day outside, threatening rain. "I'll give you a call if there's anything to her story."

"Yes, sir." Remington nodded and turned heading out, as the Detective followed him.

Demons Etc. was situated in the tallest building in the city, on the highest floor. It provided a lucrative view of the surrounding city, privacy, and plush interiors. The elevator ride down was always pleasant, as the bellman was a chatty sort who enjoyed nosing into others businesses. Yet, few knew much about the mysterious organization… It seemed to have connections in the strangest places, mafia, supernatural…but the Detective in charge was a much respected man, who had dealings with such places like the Magdalene Order.

Yet there were things about him that disturbed many people…his dark skin, the slight point to his ears that some had noticed, and the flashing fangs when he grinned. When asked about it, he just laughed and made a joke about them being paranoid. But every time he saved a child, or an innocent, people nodded their heads approvingly. They knew that he was a good person, and couldn't be anything devious. After all, monsters didn't do such things.

He blew some of his hair out of his face as he leaned against the subway pillar, awaiting the train to arrive. Yes, people here lived in a constant state of concern for the many supernatural, and demonic creatures that lurked beneath… He wouldn't ever be out of a job so long as this continued.

The train came around the bend, and its squeaky wheels screeched to a halt as it stopped, and its doors opened. He stepped inside, and took up a place standing in the middle car, and leaned casually against the pole. Just another day in the city.

* * *

"Ah, Christ…" The young woman muttered and hissed painfully, as her briefcase went flying and skidded onto the pavement. The heel of her shoe had fallen through a sewer grate, and she'd callously toppled onto the crowded city sidewalk of Park Avenue. People continuously bustled around her and paid her no heed, as she desperately tried to recollect her belongings and dust herself off.

She ran a hand through her hair, only to notice that upon her glorious trip to the floor, she'd also somehow managed to get a hefty wad of dirty gum matted in her blond hair. "Nice going Rosette, just peachy… you're in the city for all of 30 minutes and you're already--"

Her train of thought was interrupted as she noticed a very familiar photo nearly getting trampled on the sidewalk. A strong gust of wind whooshed by, and it was quickly carried up on the current and into the avenue's rush hour traffic. Rosette froze with fear and panicked.

And then she did something that probably made a good number of bystanders- children and elderly alike- think she was absolutely and utterly insane: She scrambled up from her heap on the sidewalk and hurled herself into the oncoming traffic, and began chasing after the free-floating picture.

One taxi, two taxi, three taxi, four! She dodged them and flailed her arms as she lept after the runaway photo.

_You can't leave me again, not this time, please…_ She begged silently to herself.

Rosette took one final frantic lunge, undeterred by the car horns honking angrily around her, and was amazed to find the photo tightly grasped within her extended hand. She hurried herself to the other side of the street and away from the mob of people that were awestruck by the spectacle.

She quietly slipped into a back alley, and slumped down against the brick wall with an audible sigh. Several rats skittered near the garbage heaps nearby, hungrily perusing the unidentifiable scraps of food strewn about. Normally she'd probably freak out and kill the poor, unsuspecting fuzzy rodents, but she was too entirely entranced with the picture she nearly risked her life for.

"Joshua…" She whispered, tears brimming in her eyes, unshed. "I'm going to find you here, I know I will."

It'd been ten years since she'd last seen her twin brother, her only family. She'd woken up one day, and not a single tangible trace of him remained: only this faded photograph she always carried in her pocket. The whole world had so easily denied his very existence, yet she still persisted in finding out why: why memories had been erased, why someone had taken the time to up heave Rosette and Joshua's lives together.

Rosette clenched her fists. She might have not been a huge fan of the city life for obvious reasons, but she'd bear with it for the sake of her goal. After all, rumor of a particular detective agency had spread even to the rural areas of the country where she lived, enough to pique her curiosity and try her luck in such a place as this.

She reached into the right breast pocket of her black wool coat and pulled out a crumpled newspaper ad:

"HELP WANTED: Field assistant for detective agency. Must have good note-taking skills, be perceptive to paranormal activity, and be willing and motivated to deal with possibly life-threatening situations. Full benefits, including room and board. Contact Demons Etc. for more information."

She had no formal training, but whomever she'd spoken to on the phone sounded pretty eager to have her come in for an interview_. I guess not many people are willing to put their neck on the line in this kind of work, huh?_ She mused thoughtfully. Whatever the case was, she knew this was her ticket to finally finding some help for Joshua. And if not, at least she'd learn how to look for him herself if she had to…right?

"Ah well! I'm going to be late if I sit here in this dump thinking to myself." She stood up with a grunt and brushed herself off.

After spending another hour or so weaving in and out of the crowds that she loved so dearly-- "Right, sure I do…"She muttered under her breath sarcastically.-- she'd finally found the subway station she'd been looking for, to head uptown and find this so-called Demons Etc. She hurried downwards to the platform, and noticed that the #4 train was just about full of commuters already.

"Ah! N-o… yo-u… ca-n't… le-ave!" She said, her voice bouncing erratically with her, as she walked rapidly down the stairs.

Hurdling down the platform at breakneck speed, she wedged herself into the sliding plexiglass doors of the train and pushed her way through them, and into the sweaty, stinky mass of people around her.

She wrinkled her nose offensively at first, until she sniffed and smelled something that was actually quite pleasant!

"Mm, nice cologne… or something." She hummed to herself.

Turning her head towards the door, she noticed a tall man situate himself next to her, leaning up against one of the many steel poles. The doors made their trademark "ding!" as they shut, and the train began rattling its way down the darkened subway tracks of New York. _So he's what smelled so, uh, what's an appropriate word… delicious? No no. _She blushed at her own thoughts, as she glanced at the mysterious, yet rather handsome stranger.

The stranger turned his head as he realized he was being watched by a young woman. Her clothes were a bit disheveled, and she seemed to be sniffing the air oddly, and he self-consciously took a whiff of his coat collar…nope, it wasn't bad, he'd remembered to put cologne on today at least.

_Holy Mary Mother of -- he's looking at me!_ Rosette squeaked mentally, as he grinned at her. _Was I that staring at him so obviously? Oh god, and he probably thinks I thought he smelled bad, didn't he?_ She groaned and plastered a hand to her forehead, smacking it lightly.

"Good morning, sir. Pleasure to meet ya. Name's Rosette!" She said evenly, extending a hand. The least she could do was approach him and introduce herself in a civilized manner, stranger or not.

He smiled at her obvious embarrassment. She seemed to be a nice person, and you didn't often run into those sort in a big city such as this nowadays. He grasped her hand gently, and shook it with a nod to her. "Rosette, eh? That's a very lovely name." He complimented her with a grin. And it was. He of course then had to introduce himself. "Chrno. Pleased to meet you." His eyes strayed to her luggage. "Did you just arrive in town?" He asked of her, noting that she didn't seem to be quite in array of order.

"Ah, y-yes..." She stammered, embarrassed at the fact that her suitcase probably looked like it'd been to hell and back. "I had a lovely date with the sidewalk earlier, and well..." She shrugged, sweeping a hand across her gum-filled hair. "Now I'm late for an important interview at one of the local detective agencies. The best of the best I hear. I'm just crossing my fingers that I get there in one piece!" She chuckled lightly.

He gave a good natured smile at the gum in her hair, hey it happened, he could sympathize. However, his eyebrow raised at the second half of her comment. "Really? Which agen--.." His words were suddenly cut off as the entire train shuttered violently, and the lights began to flicker above them…the sound of screeching metal and creaking wheels could be heard in the tunnel, as people in the cars screamed once in brief terror, then the barrage stopped, as if it was over….

But then it struck again, this time even more rough, throwing everyone to the floor from both standing and sitting positions, as the whole train buckled, and the light plunged into darkness, screeching, screaming, and grinding filling the air interspersed with the screams of the passengers as something very large, and bearing glowing eyes, bit off the rear of the train they were sitting in, a mess of wires and metal flying everywhere as it tore a gaping hole in the back of the train.

Chrno fell heavily with everyone else to the floor, his head jerking up quickly alert at the action, and as the monster struck, he flung himself in front of Rosette protectively, as glass shards and metal shrapnel went flying everywhere.

Well, what a predicament this was, Chrno thought as he panted for breath as Rosette sat down hard on his lungs. _Very graceful, yes…_

He had to avoid staring at the very fine-formed leg that was directly next to his head and if he happened to glance sideways…he might get more than he bargained for of seeing things he shouldn't. Luckily, he was a gentleman, and did not look.

Rosette groaned, as she struggled to open her eyes. Hmm, one felt like it was probably swollen shut. "Must've bumped the pole or something…" She murmured, trying to adjust her eyes to the lack of light around her.

"Chrno?" She called out warily. "Chrno, are you alright?"

She continued groping around in the dark with both arms, until she ended up squeezing something warm and uh, a tad on the fleshy side. A muffled sound came out from underneath her splayed hand, as she then noticed it was practically covering Chrno's entire face and probably suffocating the poor man. A wisp of air blew out from between his lips and tickled the palm of Rosette's hand, making her giggle reflexively and withdraw her hand.

She also couldn't help but notice she was laying directly on top of him.

"Oh GOD, I'm so-so-sorry!" Rosette warbled, as she blushed furiously and tried to scramble to her feet. Unfortunately, that proved to be more of a task as several other bodies lay haphazardly on the floor of the crowded train, and she tripped right back into her place and fell right back onto Chrno's chest with an "Oof!"

"…This just isn't my day." Rosette pondered aloud with an apologetic tone. She sighed, and opened her eyes to find Chrno peering directly at her with his red ones from his spot beneath her.

He rolled over, pulling himself out from beneath Rosette, and glanced at her worriedly. She had a nasty lump over one eye, and it was turning red and purple even as he watched, but aside from that she seemed uninjured. He of course was fine, as usual.

He stood up, and glanced back over his shoulder, and reached into his coat. From the outside, it might look that he was fondling something…not very appropriate for a public situation…

That is, until he pulled out a very odd shaped, heavy gun from his belt. It gleamed in the red emergency lights of the tunnel around them, for the train had no lights on anymore. The barrel was a cold polished steel, and wider than many typical guns, with an odd design on the side of it in the form of a cross surrounded my intricate lattice work.

He knelt back down and faced Rosette, peering at her worriedly. Somewhere along the way he'd lost his hat, he realized, but it wasn't time to hunt for it now. "Are you okay?" He asked with some concern for the young woman, as he glanced back down the tunnel at the monster that was chewing on part of the train contentedly…but that hunk of metal wouldn't hold it for long.

"Stay here." He warned, as he stood up, and strode firmly towards the end of the ruined train, with purpose.

"Stay here…? Yeah right!" Rosette muttered, after Chrno was out of earshot. Who did he think he was kidding? If she couldn't handle a situation like this with a complete stranger, then how the heck was she going to when working for the most prestigious detective in New York? "Pshaw!" Rosette puffed her cheeks out angrily, and stood up abruptly to march after Chrno, who was already a good distance away.

"Hey!" She yelled as she rummaged through her suitcase for something, but Chrno was apparently too engrossed with the creature to notice her appearance. "Aha!" She exclaimed, as she whipped out a rather mean-looking squirt gun full of holy water.

Rosette cocked her gun and eagerly rushed into the fray, intent on staking her claim.

Chrno faced the monster, and hopped out of the decrepit train, slowly striding forward, his trench coat billowing with the wind in the small space, and the foul breath of the creature. "It's nuisance Legion like this thing that gives this city a bad name." He muttered with a sigh. The monster raised it's head, and sniffed the air, and then growled at him. It knew.

All of a sudden, a small stream of water hit the demonic creature, and it howled thunderously as a small patch of its leathery skin reddened and sizzled.

Rosette cheered and hefted her squirt gun into the air triumphantly. "Take that, you piece of--" She began, but was cut off as it swung a black, malformed appendage at her.

"Where the HELL did that come from?!" Rosette bellowed incredulously. "Why can't these monsters be normal bipeds like us, huh?!"

Chrno sighed slightly but had to give her points for creativity. Who would have known that she'd have holy water stored in her bags…well she was going to audition at an agency so it made sense, but still…Very resourceful.

"Rosette!" He grabbed her arm, and pulled her back quickly as the monster howled in rage at her. "Holy water won't get rid of it.. not unless you dump whole buckets on it." He grinned a bit. "But that was a good thought."

The monster snarled, and whipped around, preparing to lunge at the two, but Chrno shoved Rosette behind him, and brought the gun up aimed straight at the monster. "Be gone, lowly Legion scum." He said in a very cool, even voice, his eyes suddenly flashing silver in the dim light, before pulling back on the trigger.

The bullet glowed with bright light as it exploded out of the muzzle, and rocketed towards the creature at whistling speed.

The bullet struck with an explosive concussion, and a bright gleam of a cross inside of the blast, as it hit the monster. The whole tunnel shook and quivered, and the monster howled in absolute agony, then disintegrated into ash as the bullet carried through, and blasted it into oblivion.

Rosette blinked. And...she blinked some more. "Wow." She whispered in awe. "That's some amazing weapon you've got there!" She then turned to face Chrno, who was nonchalantly tucking the gun back into his coat pocket. She couldn't help but peer up at him inquisitively. "Just what do you do for a living anyway, if I may ask...?"

Chrno turned towards her, a sheepish grin on his face as he rubbed the back of his head. "Ah…exorcist." He rubbed the back of his head a bit sheepishly. "Detective Chrno, at your serv—" His words were cut off as a threatening rumble shook the whole tunnel.

"Oh dear." He glanced up, and his eyes wide. "I guess the tunnel isn't strong enough to withstand a Gospel bullet…."

"Eh?" Rosette's jaw dropped, as the tunnel above them began to crack, dip, and chunks of concrete began to drop down in the spot where the monster had once been. She backed up, as Chrno's arm pushed her gently back to keep her from being hit, until finally the small collapse stopped. "Well…" she breathed, sticking both hands on her hips. "I wondered what kind of impression New York would give me… guess I'm not disappointed."

Chrno laughed at that, and turned around, assisting her back into the ruined train, where people were scurrying around, helping with the wounded, and trying to make heads or tails of the situation. "Not exactly a walk in the park is it." He fixed her with a curious look, a small twinkle in his eye for a brief moment, before he turned away. "You should be fine now. I'm going to go and see if they need any help up front." He turned his head, and smiled cheerfully at her, waving his hand slightly. "I'll see you around, Rosette."

"Waitaminute!" She stepped forward, but ended up tripping on one of her bags, which sent her sprawling over the nearest row of seats, with a rather unladylike exclamation.

By the time she had glanced up, he was gone. She blinked, a bit surprised, since the whole train looked to much in disarray for him to navigate clear to the next car already.

"Well great… ya get saved by a tall dark and handsome stranger, and ya don't even get to thank him. Brilliant, Rosette." She growled aloud, plopping back down in a seat with a sigh.

"Just brilliant."

Several hours, and many taxi-cabs later, Rosette found herself in the correct part of town, finally. Apparently, and she was embarrassed to even admit this to herself, she had JUST missed the exit entirely when riding the train, stupid her….

She peered up shading her hand against the sun as she stared up at the tall high-rise, and whistled low under her breath. "Wow… talk about impressive…. Dang, I can't even see the top of this thing."

The building was in the nicely furnished part of the city, where corporate lawyers and rich well-to do people resided, and the building itself highly reflected that, with it's turntable doors, gold plating, and bell-hops standing outside. Her eyes scanned the plaques on the edge of the building, and saw the one she was searching for. **Demons Etc.** was the top plaque in the row.

"Right then!" She hefted her bags up, and with much puffing and grunting, pushed past the bell-hop into the foyer.

She stopped dead in her tracks again, eyes wide. "Holy crap…" Several people milling about gave her rather affronted glances at the choice of language she employed, but she never noticed.

The floor was polished dark green marble, that was so clear she could see her reflection, and the reflection of the ceiling in it as if it were a mirror. Tall columns of matching stone were decorative supports through the entryway, and the ceiling rose in high arched vaults, in one of those modern baroque adaptation styles. Lamps and decoupage decorated the high ceiling above her, and the soft muted voices of the people inside bounced echoing off the walls.

A row of boxes was on the left wall, with numbers clearly written on them corresponding to the offices in the building. To the right, a table with coffee and refreshments was the center of attention. Straight ahead, was the information desk, where a smartly dressed concierge stood, talking politely with a few people.

She took a breath. _Right. No chickening out now. This may be the high and mighty of society, but if you land this job, it'll make finding Joshua a lot easer… Chin up, Rosette!_

She approached the desk, and was distinctly aware of the concierge's eyes narrowing displeasing as he turned to face her, a polite smile on his face. "May I assist you, madam."

"I'm here to see the Demon Etc. Agency." She stated firmly, and saw his eyebrow raise sharply at that statement.

"I see." He eyed her up and down once. "Are you expected?"

She fought the urge to snap something back at his prissy behavior. "Yes, I am expected." She replied managing the sweetest, most patronizing smile she could offer the man.

"One moment." He turned and picked a phone up, and dialed a number, leaving her to glance around the foyer once more.

What a place… her heart beat quickly at the thought of how close she was to her goal. What would the agency be like? Would they be stuffed shirts like their building staff seemed to be? Bah, she wasn't sure she liked that idea…

"Miss?" She turned back quickly, as the concierge spoke up. The look on his face was more than enough to make her smile, as he looked as if he had swallowed a bug suddenly. "Please proceed to the elevator to your right. Top floor. You are expected."

"Thank you." She managed to flash him one of those dazzling bright smiles, before turning and hauling her luggage after her, fighting the urge to break out into cruel laughter at the mans' plight. Idiot.

The bellhop in the elevator helped her pull her luggage in, and nodded politely to her, smiling a bit more genuinely than the fake louse at the desk had. "Top floor miss?"

"Yes please." She leaned back against the wall as he cranked the doors shut and pushed the correct button. _Geeze, what a hassle…_ She thought as they slowly began to rise. _New Yorkers are such snobs…well, except for that Chrno person._ She felt her cheeks glow darker at the thought of the tall, dark, mysterious detective. But she sighed in resignation. No way she'd see him much anymore. They were probably competing companies.

After a long delay, the elevator stopped, and the doors chimed, opening slowly. The bellhop pulled her luggage out for her and smiled at her. "Straight ahead, miss."

She thanked him, and turned around, facing the long corridor in front of her. It wasn't that long, actually. The hallway split off to both sides after about ten paces, and a single door was set against the wall at the t-section. She could see even from this distance the sign on the frosted glass, as she pulled her bags with her along the rich red carpeted floor with mahogany siding.

She stopped in front of the door, the silence in the hallway calming her nerves as she took a deep breath, her eyes scanning the fine gold lettering that indicated this was the correct office. **Demons Etc. **_Supernatural extermination, private eye, and investigative agency._ The sign was gold leaving inlaid upon the frosted glass, giving it a classic upscale appearance.

_Okay, Rosette, don't mess this up._ She took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

The inside was actually a little bit surprising at first. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but clutter certainly wasn't one of them. Sure, there was a fine mahogany desk, with trophies and such, but stacked haphazardly on top of it in disorganized piles, were papers, folders, and items buried somewhere beneath. Several pictures on the wall were crooked, and a clock was ticking, but gave the wrong time.

A few jackets were piled on chairs, since the hat and coat stand was completely filled with guns on straps dangling all over it, and a couple swords in addition. The radio was playing somewhere in the back of the massive stacks of paper, and she heard rummaging going on through some file cabinets, and the irritated snapping of a woman's voice.

"I TOLD you, I refuse to put up with this kind of harassment any further!"

Rosette snuck in, closing the door behind her, and carefully peered around the corner of the desk, and spotted the woman who was speaking, apparently, to a man who looked quite frazzled.

"I put up with your stupid regulations, and expect to get paid the proper amount for my services. It's not MY fault if the mission failed, I still expect to be paid!"

"I'm sorry, but you blew up the whole warehouse." A deep male voice explained calmly, with an edge of frustration to it. "We can give you expense costs, but the items were destroyed, so we can't reimburse you for that."

The glower that the woman fixed him with was enough to make him flinch, but she whirled around on her high heels and sniffed. "I won't waste my time working for your agency again if you continue to be so hoarding of your funds. Tell your boss that unless he pays me the full amount, and soon, I won't offer my services to him any longer."

She turned around, and with a swish of her skirts, breezed past Rosette, throwing her a haughty glance as she did so. She was quite a lovely woman, with long chestnut hair, and flashing eyes, and a figure that would make any man blush. She was dressed in what looked like an expensive two piece dress suit, made of silk. The only other notable piece of jewelry, aside from some expensive looking earrings and bracelets, was a strange glove with a gem inlaid upon it, on her right hand.

Rosette let out a long breath, as the woman slammed the door hard enough to rattle the pictures hanging there, and even send one clattering to the ground.

"Man…" The man's voice from the other side of the paper piles sighed. "Talk about a live-wire… She wants the sun and the moon when you only give her the stars." Footsteps on the cluttered carpet sounded, and soon, he stepped into Rosette's view, as he began to shuffle papers around on the desk. He was a handsome man, though not exactly the type Rosette would search after in a companion, plus he looked a bit on the older side. He had unkempt blond hair, and startling blue eyes, set in a narrow, serious face. His white shirt was rather rumpled, and his tie half-done as if he'd thrown it on in a hurry, and his shirt half tucked out of his belt.

Not exactly the prime suspect to represent a nationally acclaimed organization.

"Ahem."

His head came up, surprised, and he blinked once, before his mind seemed to register who she was. "Ah, Rosette Christopher is it?" He straightened up, and ran a hand swiftly through his hair, and attempted to straighten his tie. "My apologies, something sudden came up."

He stepped out from behind the desk and offered a hand to her, and she grasped it firmly as they shook. "Welcome. Please, have a seat and I'll go ahead and ask you a few questions. My name is Ewan Remington, by the way." He added, almost as an after thought. "Assistant Detective."

_Not exactly very organized, is he?_ Rosette thought wryly, as she found a spare chair, and sat down in front of the cluttered desk, facing Remington as he shoved someone's jacket off the chair on his side, and sat down, rummaging for a pen and paper.

Finally, after spilling some ink on the desk when he accidentally tiped the inkwell over, he pulled his act together, and began to scribble notes. "I apologize the Detective in charge isn't around, but he went off to check on some paranormal activities on the far side of the city. He should be back later this evening. In the meantime, I have a few questions to ask you." His eyes raised to meet hers, and she saw tired strain reflected in them. Apparently the poor assistant was overwhelmed. "So, Rosette. You told me something about yourself over the phone, so I have some of the details already, but let me ask you a few more details. First off… have you ever been in a situation where you've faced any paranormal activity?"

She almost laughed out loud. Before today, her answer would have been no. "Yeah… I can say I've been exposed to it quite a lot recently."

He nodded and scribbled some notes down. "And what was your reaction in that situation. Please be honest."

"Well…" She rummaged in her jacket, and pulled out the water pistol filled with holy water and slammed it down on the desk. "This thing didn't have much effect on it… luckily another professional was there to take care of it. But I have to say, it WAS kind of exciting."

He raised an eyebrow at that, but nodded. "So you don't tense up in a sudden encounter?"

"Nah, no point. If you hesitate, you'll just get yourself killed."

He smiled at that, and nodded in agreement. "Do you have any particular fears, phobias, or prejudice against ghosts, demons, poltergeists, and other assorted monsters and spirits?"

"Not really. I've never met one that I've liked so far, but that's because most of them are trying to eat me or something."

He nodded again. "So you feel that you would be able to stay calm in the face of possible peril to yourself, and be able to handle any situation that comes to rise?" At her nod, he seemed satisfied. "Well, you seem to have the perfect kind of motivation we're looking for. Of course, the Detective will have to talk to you first before he makes his decision, but I'm pretty sure you're guaranteed the job." Remington smiled over at her, a look of relief on his face. "And I must say, it couldn't come soon enough. One more thing. The hours around here tend to be random and very sudden. You may be called out in the middle of the night, several days a week, or there could be no activity for a number of days. Either way, room and board are provided, though I have to admit neither of us cook very well." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "But we have plenty of supplies in the kitchen. Let me show you around."

He rose and gestured for her to follow him, and turned towards the door she had entered through. She stood, a bit mystified, and followed him as he took a turn down the left corridor first. There were three doors there, and the first on his left he opened, and entered. Inside was a very large kitchen and dining room, that transitioned into a leisure room, with some couches scattered around, and some bookshelves crammed full to the seams with material. There was an old phonograph machine by the window, and a stack of records beside it, like the rest of the piles in this place, were tipping over on the verge of falling.

The kitchen was large, and filthy. Pots and pans filled the sink, lined the stove, and dirty dishes were stacked up on top of each other, that looked weeks old. Magazines were littered across the tables, and newspapers piled crookedly on the floor.

"I'm afraid it's a bit… um.. unkempt. I do apologize. We meant to clean it up before we started interviewing, but lately we've had calls pretty much 24/7." Remington sighed. "And as you can see, we're very short handed."

Rosette wrinkled her nose, but declined from commenting, as he exited, and showed her down the hall where the restroom was, thankfully that was cleaner and more organized, to her relief.

The final room was more interesting to her, however. It was a tightly locked facility, and it took Remington a good five minutes to undo all the keys, before pushing the door open and allowing her inside the dark metal lined walls. Her breath held, as she glanced at the rows upon rows of firearms and firepower, and her eyes widened as she recognized several very familiar guns.

"Hey, those are those Gospel guns?" She pointed at the cold steel revolvers, and saw Remington's eyebrow raise.

"Yes, very good." He smiled, and picked one up, handing it to her. "They're a special line of weapons that the Magdalene Order creates in order to combat demons. They use holy bullets to infuse energy that's highly damaging to demons. We're one of their private branches. They used to run their own squads, but it became too costly for them to go full time with the amount of activity out here, so they began employing smaller branches to help them." He raised an eyebrow. "You've seen one of these guns before, I take it?"

"Yeah, and it was really impressive too." She nodded, putting the gun back on the shelf, and glanced around. Various other gadgets lined the walls, and most of it she didn't recognize, but a few things, she could immediately tell were either demonic or holy in origins, as they sat on opposite, warded, shelves.

"We have a testing room as well." He explained, opening a small door at the end of the room, and nodding for her to peer in. Sure enough, it was a tight metal room, no larger than a closet, but with scorch marks and dents all over the walls. There was also what looked like a holy barrier perimeter in the far corner, though it was inactive. "Any new equipment, or relics we find we bring here for safekeeping. We have powerful wards to keep any demons or spirits contained, but anything we think is too powerful, we bring to the Magdalene Order, they have a more adequate facility for disposal."

_Wow…_ Rosette's mind swum with excitement, as she stared at the facility, as Remington led her back out, re-locking everything up. _This place IS really stocked… no wonder they've got such a good reputation._

"Down here…" Remington led her down the opposite and last corridor, and pushed a door open, revealing a large spacious room inside. "This will be your room. You can bring your things in when you like, and get settled in." He stood aside, and let her look around. The room was pretty large, in fact Rosette gawked at the amount of space there, but grinned widely. It had huge windows on the far side with curtains half-drawn over them to give her a great view over the Hudson River, and even a small thin balcony that she had the feeling she wouldn't be spending that much time out on, since it was so high up. She had her own large bed, walk-in closet, dressers, side-tables, and even a small table and chair in the corner. The decorations were plain, but not inelegant, and Rosette already knew what she'd be doing to make it more livable.

"My room is directly next to yours, and the room on the far end is the boss's." Remington explained. "There's a stairwell at the far end across from that which leads to the roof, but it tends to get windy up there, so if you're going up for a look please be careful."

She nodded and grinned. _Talk about living it rich…_ Once Remington had smiled and excused himself, telling her to please make herself comfortable, she had dragged her bags in, and begun unpacking.

She didn't hesitate in washing her face off, and putting fresh clothing, and making sure her hair wasn't as mussed as it had been. And before long, she heard several voices from down the corridor, and straightened up. Apparently the Detective had returned.

She made her way back to the office, and saw Remington bend over, picking up a few more papers, and stuffing them into a file. He glanced up, saw her and straightened. "Ah, go ahead in the back. He'll want to talk with you, though I forgot to mention you're here already."

She nodded, and slipped through the stacks and piles, into the back section where the office door stood ajar. Her eyes strayed to the door, but a coat had been slung over the door, obscuring the words written there. She stuck her head in, and knocked lightly, straightening her shoulders squarely, as she took a breath, and stepped in, preparing to meet her new employer.

Her jaw dropped wide open, the moment the startled crimson eyes met hers.

There was a brief moment of silence, before both of them burst out laughing. "It's you!" Rosette finally managed, as his twinkling eyes met hers, twinkling with amusement.

"And it's nice to see you again too, Rosette." Chrno smiled and took his hat off, depositing it on the rack beside his desk, where he had already hung his coat up. "You seem to get around quite a bit!"

She felt her cheeks redden, and she forced herself to look away before she regretted giving away how embarrassed she was. "Er, yeah well… You could have TOLD me you ran this place, ya know."

"Well, I was going to ask, before we were interrupted." He chuckled, and sank into the chair behind the desk, gesturing for her to sit in one of the chairs opposite him. "Unfortunately, monsters have no sense of timing."

She grinned, her cheeks still red as she sat down, and cast her glance down. "Yeah, well… eh heh…" _God, I must sound like an idiot to him…_

"So!" He leaned forward over the desk, and knit his hands together casually, after he loosened the tie about his neck. "Tell me about the reason you want this job." His eyes twinkled more as he peered at her. "Though I already had the chance to see you in action earlier today."

She flushed more, and coughed slightly. "Yeah well…" She gave him a thumbs up. "Guess that's a plus for me, isn't it?" At his nod she grinned and leaned back in the chair. "Well.. I guess the reason I applied for this job, is because it sounded exciting, and something that you don't come across every day. I couldn't ever stifle one of those boring desk jobs, where ya gotta stay inside all the time, day after day the same thing."

Chrno laughed at that, flashing her a set of straight white teeth, that for the briefest of moments, she swore had slight tips to the incisors, but by the time she had blinked, he was leaning back, smiling warmly at her. "I entirely sympathize. Well, certainly Miss Christopher, in this job you won't have to worry about being bored. Though there is the occasional paper work that needs to be done, it's mostly all field work, where you risk life and limb while defending the public. Sound fun to you?"

Her grin widened, and she nodded energetically. "Sign me up!"

* * *

_Revised 02/07/08 _


	2. Chapter Two: Into the Night

**Demons Etc.**

_Chapter Two: Into the Night_

_Authors new note: Good grief... you mean... she lives? Oh yes. Fear me. I'm retouching this fic, almost 4 years after I started it. Forgive me, real life problems, lack of inspiration and stuff got in the way, but... I'm back! Look for changes and complete revisions after Chapter 6! I'm touching up a few things each chapter, then re-working it completely starting with Magdalena's scene. Hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! Moriyama-sensei does. Blame him!_

* * *

Her heart pounded strongly in her chest like a cadence of drums as she clung tightly to the steering wheel of the car, as it rocketed down the street at breakneck speed. The whole car shook as it's wheels hit the cobblestone road unevenly, as she slammed the breaks on, and skidded to a stop in the parking lot outside the dock.

She didn't hesitate, as she kicked open the door, and piled out, grabbing the box of ammunition and guns, and running full force down the street towards the flashes of light that came from the opposite side of the crates piled up on the edge of the pier. Her breath gasped sharply in and out of her lungs as she skidded to a stop, gun out, and eyes forward.

The mass of writhing tentacles coming from the sea was enough to spring her into action, as she saw a tall lithe form dart behind some crates as it lashed out again. "Chrno!" She ran forward, and skidded to a stop next to the tall detective, and panted a bit, wrenching the box open for him to reload his already empty weapon. "Sorry it took so long… damn traffic was heavy this late at night!"

Chrno was panting for breath, but grinned up at her as he continued loading the Sacred bullets into the gun he held steadily in his hands. "It's alright…. I doubt this will hold him much longer though…"

Rosette glanced over at him, and flushed a bit, watching his breath come quickly as he continued to load the second gun up with more bullets. His brow was covered in sweat, and his hair plastered down. It looked like he'd fallen in the water at least once, maybe more. Her cheeks reddened a bit, as she realized she was staring none too subtly at him…. But something was odd, that she'd just noticed, as her eyes traced the gentle slopes to his ears. She'd never noticed THAT before… weird…

With a snap, the gun came up, and Chrno turned his head, glancing around the edge of the crates, listening as the monster continued to roar in fury and agony from the injuries it had already taken. "What a bother." He grumbled, with a frustrated sigh. "If only the fishermen had left it out at sea, none of this would have happened. Fools…"

Rosette peeked around the corner with him, leaning over his back a bit to see. "You think you can manage?"

"Hm…" He looked thoughtful, then handed a gun to her. "Here. Be careful when you use this. But I think it's time you had some hands on training." He flashed her a bright smile, and she felt her heart quicken with excitement. "But be careful not to hit anyone else but the monster with it. Holy bullets may not be as damaging on the astral level to humans, but they can still blow someone apart."

"Right, got it." She took the gun, and gave him a thumbs up. "What's the plan?"

"Wait for me, then when you hear me fire, take a shot from this position. We'll distract it from two points." He grinned up at her. "Good luck!"

"I won't let you down!" She waved energetically, and gripped the cold steel in her hand tightly, her eyes riveted on the weapon. _This is it… your first chance to prove your worth. Don't blow it Rosette!_ Her heart pounded solidly in her chest, as Chrno ducked behind some more crates, and vanished from sight.

The first few missions she'd been on were small time things, that could be taken care of by setting up holy barrier perimeters and herding spirits in to be caught. No action, no adventure, and no chaos. It was an easy way to become accustomed to the way things worked.

Chrno enjoyed his work, she had learned quickly. Remington on the other hand, only went out when extra backup was needed, since he preferred to keep a passive position. She'd learned that he used to be a priest at the Magdalene Order, years ago, which probably accounted for it. Why he had left, she couldn't be sure of, however.

But this was their first 'real' mission. She had gotten the call in the middle of the night, that she was needed as backup with a full artillery of weapons immediately down by the docks. Apparently Chrno was already on site, and had told her to bring the car as fast as she could. Rosette had blanched at first, since she really didn't drive much, but she HAD gotten her license so she quickly fell to and packed the car up, and screeched out, top speed.

And now, it was her chance.

The sound of firing brought her head up. "Shit!" She swore, and instantly dove out of hiding, and glanced towards the creature. It was distracted to the side, and she saw Chrno kneeling off to the left, firing at it. Her side was open… Her hand came up, and at first she hesitated. There was a huge difference shooting at something with a real gun, versus a water pistol loaded with holy water… For the briefest moment, she hesitated, her hands shaking as she felt a cold feeling clutch her chest.

She couldn't do it…

At that moment, time slowed.

Her shaking hands couldn't hold the gun still much longer, and it began to droop in her hands, as she watched, suddenly frozen in hesitation, unable to pull the trigger. She heard distant clicking sounds, and the cease of explosions from the bullets Chrno wielded to the side. "Rosette!!" His head whipped to the side, seeing her hesitation.

She saw the tentacle whip out before he did, but felt her frozen muscles refuse to react… "CHRNO! LOOK OUT!" she managed to gasp, but her voice was scratchy and hoarse, and didn't reach his ears in time.

The monster's flailing limb collided with Chrno, and sent him flying into the crates directly behind him, gun soaring through the air, and clattering to the ground several feet away.

Her whole world went red. "DAMN YOU!" She growled, and rose to her full height, all 5 foot 3 inches, and brought the gun in her hand up to bear on the monster. "Don't attack my FRIEND!"

The gun seemed natural in her hand suddenly, as she squeezed tightly, and the explosion knocked the weapon back in her hand, sending her stumbling a few feet backwards, but her eyes never left her quarry. The bullet whizzed forward, glowing brightly, and it was then Rosette remembered that the gun he had given her, had only one bullet in it….a Gospel, not a Sacred. Her eyes widened briefly in fear, just as the bullet collided with the monster, and an explosion of white light filled the night sky, as a resounding boom shook the docks, and knocked her from her feet.

Her heart was racing, as she slowly lifted her eyes, which were wide as she watched the barrier of light begin to expand towards her, the monster's death setting off a miniature bomb-like explosion, whose radius she was still enveloped in.

And there was no way she could escape!

Her eyes clenched closed, as she knew for certain, her death was on hand, when she felt a grip of strong hands embrace her, and a warm body draw her tight, as white light surrounded her very being, blinding her momentarily, as wind whipped fiercely around as she ducked her head down, terrified.

Then, abruptly, it was over. The only sound left, was the gasping of her breath racking her lungs, and the solid thumping of her heart in her ears… or was it hers? Her eyes lifted, and she felt her cheeks redden again, as she saw just who it was that had her in a tight embrace.

Chrno's eyes opened, and he glanced down at her, worry reflected on his face as he spoke quietly. "Are you ok, Rosette?"

"Um… yeah." She lowered her eyes, suddenly feeling the full weight of her failure slam home. Not only had she completely done what she had sworn never to do, and hesitated, she had nearly gotten him killed, and then he had to save her in the end. "God, I messed that one up bad." She muttered.

A gentle sigh told her that he wasn't upset, as he released her from the tight hold. "No, it's okay. It was your first time, and perhaps I was prematurely pushing you too far."

"No, you weren't." She said firmly, looking up. "I was ready… I just…was stupid." Her eyes took on a dedicated firm expression. "It won't happen again, I promise."

He fixed her with a thoughtful look, then smiled nodding, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Take your time. Don't worry."

She smiled back and let out a pent-up breath. "Wow… what a fight…" A thought occurred to her, and she quickly put a hand on his arm, stopping him as he turned to pick up the gun at their feet. "Hey, are you okay? You took a pretty bad hit back there."

"I'm fine." He smiled at her, sticking the weapon in his belt holster and turning back around. "It's not bad."

"Now wait just a minute." Rosette protested, frowning up at him worriedly. "No one just walks away from something like that.. come on, let me take a look." She insisted, pulling on his arm, trying to get him to turn around.

"No, really." He protested, looking a bit embarrassed by her insisting attitude. "I'm fine!"

"Oh stop it, just let me have a look!"

"It's not really necessary…" He turned away, trying to evade her grasp, which just frustrated her further, as she grabbed a hold of both his suspenders, and yanked.

"Just let me look at it!" she finally managed to wrench the back of his shirt up, expecting to see bruising, and scrapes from where he had plowed into the crates, but much to her surprise, there wasn't a scratch on him… in fact… even his shirt was whole and unblemished. She blinked a bit, and looked up at him, surprised.

"See? I told you, I'm fine." He smiled and tugged away from her grip. "I was lucky enough to have a soft landing."

She frowned, but couldn't really fault him for that. "Well, as long as you're fine…"

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's head back and make our report. We're finished here." He glanced back at the ashes blowing around on the wind behind them where the monster had de-materialized. "You did an excellent job despite your hesitation at the beginning, Rosette. Good work."

The praise was enough to make her face glow more, any worries disintegrating at his kindness, but something gave her pause, as she bent down to pick up the discarded supply box. They had been fully enveloped by the result of Gospel and the monster's death, yet they were completely unharmed… Now, Rosette was certain the blast had been destructive, since the edges of her dress were blackened, and she saw scorch marks on the crates all around them. Yet, Chrno and herself were miraculously untouched.

Her mind turned that over, as they walked back to the car…

The light breeze felt good on her shoulders, as Rosette leaned over the edge of the building, staring down at the traffic far below. With so much excitement this night, there was no way she could sleep. So, she had taken some time to come up here, where she hadn't been before, and enjoy the cool summer air around her. It was probably about four am by now, yet still the city was as busy as it ever was.

"Does this city ever sleep?" She muttered aloud, propping her hand under her chin and watching the river of lights flow beneath her. It seemed not to, with people rushing to and fro constantly, always on the move, always on the go… it was quite a change from the slow, country pace of the orphanage she had just left.

A sad feeling clenched her chest, as she closed her eyes in the dim light. The moon was out full tonight, casting an ethereal glow all around, and also making her heart ache. It had been a moonlight night like this when Joshua had vanished without a trace.

A sudden burst of air around her whipped her hair free of it's tie, and her head jerked up a bit surprised, as she heard the strangest sound from above.

Her eyes lifted, and widened at the sight they beheld.

High above in the air, a form could be seen. It was distant, so far away that she couldn't be certain what it was at first…but then it swooped lower, and her heart caught in her throat, as her hand instinctively reached for the gun that no longer rested at her side. "Crap!" She hissed, eyes intent on the demon soaring above.

He was a frightening image to behold… Large dragon-like wings stretched wide, nearly blocking out the moonlight, though a faint glow could be seen through the membrane. The figure attached to the wings was tall, and ominous, and from this distance, all Rosette could see was the glowing red light of a pair of eyes, gleaming down at her in the dim shadows. She clutched her sweater tightly to her, shivering in the night, eyes riveted as the demon's spine-like tail streaked behind him, as he soared upwards, disappearing further into the stars and becoming one with the night, dropping from view.

Rosette's breath slowly let out. That had been probably the most frightening experience she had ever had… That demon was entirely different from the ones that Chrno and she had faced up till now. The ones they faced were lower level, monstrous beings, that had no human shape…

That one, he had a distinct human shape… and from what she remembered of her brief lessons, those that could take human shape were very powerful.

There were three or four classes of demons, Chrno had told her when explaining some of the basics to her several days prior. The lowest ranks were those who had little intelligence, and couldn't take any other form but their own, which was often horrific and obvious. There were those considered Legion, low rank demons who could badly mimic humans, but not truly hide their nature. It always seemed to leek out either by a grossly distorted ugliness, or by the feeling of something evil. The second tier were the 'humanoid' demons. Those who could readily take human shapes, and had various ranks and amounts of power, equal to the strength and size of their astral receiving horns. The larger the horns, the higher rank the demon was, and the more dangerous. These demons were rarely seen around on earth, however, as they kept mostly to their own Realm in Pandemonium. But he had warned her, should she ever run up against one, don't try to face it, but retreat. Normal Gospel bullets were not likely enough to damage the demon enough, and would only piss it off.

Remembering that slice of information, gave her the heebie jeebies as she continued to search the sky for any sign of the demon. She would have to report it to him in the morning when he was awake... he'd retired to his room, exhausted after the long night.

Or so she thought…

A sudden hand on her shoulder, caused her to shriek in alarm, whirling around and whipping her hand out wildly, coming in firm contact with a cheek to whose body the hand was attached to.

"Ah…!" The familiar voice startled her, and she pulled back, blinking, as her cheeks instantly reddened, realizing who she'd just slapped. "C…Chrno! I'm sorry! I thought you were… er.. someone else!"

"Who else would I be?" He asked, a look of confusion on his face, as he rubbed the side of his face lightly with a hand, eyebrow raised as he peered down at her.

"Um… never mind." She flushed, and gripped her hands tightly together awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

"Ah, it's fine." He smiled, and leaned on the edge of the building, next to her, folding his arms. "Remind me not to sneak up on you in the future, though."

She gave him a wide awkward grin, and they both laughed softly in the dark night.

"So… couldn't sleep?" She finally asked, kicking some of the gravel lining the top of the roof.

"Hmm…" He mused, not really answering that, but tilting his head to the side, watching her. "I heard you up here, and thought I'd see what was wrong. Can't you sleep?"

"No…" She admitted with a sigh. "Not after what happened."

"It wasn't your fault." He spoke up quickly, sensing her worry.

"No, I know." She grinned. "But still, it was so action packed, my nerves are all on edge."

He chuckled lightly. "I can understand that."

They stood there in silence, their gazes roaming over the night sky, as the gentle wind tossed their hair around.

"Ne, Chrno…?"

"Hmm?"

Rosette lowered her gaze, and then turned her head to watch him, as he continued to stare at the sky. There was such an emotional look on his face at this moment, that she wondered if she should bring the topic of the demon up at all… something was bothering him, she could see that in his eyes as he slowly ripped his gaze down to meet hers.

"What is it?" He asked softly.

She hesitated, then shrugged and decided to go ahead and tell him. "I saw something just a little while ago…" At the slight tilt of his head encouraging her to continue, she scratched her head lightly. "...it was a demon. Not one of those small ugly ass things, but one of the ones you told me to avoid."

She turned her head up towards the sky again, therefore missing the thoughtful look he threw in her direction. "It got me to thinking… we're taught to hate and fear demons since we were kids. Why? I mean, the ones that attack citizens and stuff are obviously dangerous and need to be taken care of, but what about the others that don't show themselves around here much?" Her eyes fell to meet his gaze evenly. "Why are they something to hate, to fear? Are they really pure evil like we're taught?" His expression actually surprised her a bit, as she noted he seemed thoughtfully taken aback. "Sorry. I know you make a living outta this stuff… but… I'm just curious about it."

A faint smile crossed his face. "No, it's a good concept to think about actually." He folded his hands together and peered over the edge of the building, watching the cars below in relative silence before finally speaking up. "The stigma attached to demons is something not many people see past what the church teaches." He tilted his head towards her, and she suddenly had the very strange feeling that he knew more about this than he was willing to relate. "The origin of demons is already explained fairly well in the church's teaching…thoughts that they were originally fallen angels." At her nod, he continued. "No one's sure if this is true or not of course, and no one can authenticate it obviously."

Rosette shrugged a bit knowing what he meant. "Yeah but that still doesn't say that they're all automatically 'evil', unless the whole concept of heaven and hell is the truth."

"Well, it's not completely true." He smiled a bit. "Heaven is a broad concept… from what I've been told, what people think of heaven is actually something called the Astral Line… it's the source of life, and souls, a river in the sky." He gestured above their heads, and Rosette's gaze lifted to stare at the starry night sky as he spoke. "It's normally invisible, and none can see it's existence, but that doesn't mean it isn't still there, surrounding the world. As for 'hell', it too exists, but in a different way." He pointed down at the ground this time. "It's called Pandemonium, and it's the home of the demons. That's where most remain."

Rosette nodded. That much they'd discussed already. Pandemonium was another place entirely, another dimension, realm, whatever you wished to call it, it wasn't really 'below' the earth, but rather existed parallel to it. When demons came here, it was through rifts or breaks in the barriers keeping the two worlds separate. It was easier to pass between Pandemonium and this realm, than to gain access to the Astral Line.

"As for the 'evil' nature of demons." He continued thoughtfully. "Like you say, I'm not convinced that it's a nature that's automatic, but something that's taught, influenced by those around you and the choices you make… demons shouldn't be any different. In my experience, I've known a few demons who haven't been evil beings."

"Really?" Her eyebrows rose, out of curiosity. "How many have you known like that?"

"Only a handful." He admitted with a nod. "Most demons relish in death, destruction, and violence. With power comes terrible temptation to use it, and demons have far more destructive power than humans could imagine."

"No wonder." She grumbled. "Power corrupts, is that it…?"

"That's my assumption." There was something about his tone that made her glance his way, a bit suspiciously. He was holding back somehow, but she wasn't one to pry and ask more than her due.

"So…" She leaned forward and grinned over at his friendly face. "How did you get into this business, anyway? I mean… you obviously love guns as much as I do…" At his chuckle she grinned wider. "…but why demons and ghosts and stuff?"

"Well…" He trailed off, his smile faltering slightly, before he caught himself and plastered it back on… but not before she'd caught it. "…I suppose it's something that I always had knowledge of, and the people here are always needing protection where they can get it."

She nodded a bit. "Yeah.. guess so… So how do you know so much about the occult?"

"Ah… well I've always been exposed to it." He said, rather elusively, throwing further suspicions through her mind. "And you learn more as you go on of course."

"Hmph." She muttered thoughtfully, not commenting past that. Ever since earlier that night, she'd been wondering about him… There were odd signs that there was more to this man than first appearances let on. But then…maybe it was like he'd said. He'd been around the occult for so long, he was just taking on an affiliation with them….?

Or not…

Their conversation didn't last much longer, as the night was quickly turning more chilly, and Rosette decided she was finally exhausted, and bid him goodnight.

The next morning, all her questions were forgotten, as she woke to the bright sunlight spilling through the window into her face.

The cheerful smell of bacon being cooked got her up faster than the sunlight however.

She didn't waste time in throwing on the first thing she could find, which was a bit more practical for their job than feminine. She'd found a nice pair of brown pants and a blouse that was pleated down the front, but yet still classy. She hurriedly brushed her hair, and began tying them in two plaits as she jogged down the hall, and pushed her way into the kitchen.

Both the guys were up, Remington lounging casually at the table in the sun, reading a paper, and sipping a steamy mug of coffee as he glanced up once, smiled at her, and returned his gaze to the papers.

Chrno was cooking, humming lightly, with his back to her. He made a fine sight, which almost made her laugh out loud. He wore a short sleeve shirt, like most of the ones he wore, suspenders hooked on to his nice black pants. However, he was still wearing slippers, his bow tie was undone and hanging around his neck, and he wore an apron spattered with bacon grease as he valiantly flailed at a flaming piece of bacon with the spatula.

"Chrno, dump that in the sink before you hurt yourself. "She finally managed to snicker, pushing past him and picking the frying pan up, dumping it in the sink and pouring water on it. "Honestly, men… you two can't cook worth a damn."

"Sorry." Chrno laughed with some embarrassment, and Rosette threw an amused grin over at him as he undid his apron. "You'd think I'd have learned to cook after all this time…"

Remington just snorted. "It takes skill. I still haven't figured it out either."

Rosette rolled her eyes, and threw some bacon on the pan now that it was finished flaming. She wasn't a great cook either, but at least she could manage the basics. "Sheesh, you two are useless."

Chrno just smiled, and poured himself a full mug of coffee, and leaned on the edge of the counter, watching her, when the phone rang suddenly. They all gave it an odd glance, since this was the private line, not their office one. Chrno shrugged however, and lifted the receiver. "Yes?" A long pause, before his smile slowly began to fade a bit. "I see… yes… yes of course we'll be right over. Thanks." He slowly lowered the phone into the cradle, and frowned, his eyes staring blankly at the cradle for a long time, before Remington's voice broke into his reflection.

"Who was it?"

Chrno's eyes lifted, and a faint smile crossed his lips. "The Magdalene Order. We're to report there immediately. There's a situation developing apparently they want our advice on."

Remington's face turned serious at that news, and a slight frown passed over his face. "I see…"

Rosette peered over the counter at her colleagues. "What's with the gloomy faces? Is the Order mad at us or something?"

"No…no it's not that." Chrno said quietly, before shaking his head and putting his coffee mug back in the sink after emptying it, and falling silent once more. Rosette fixed him with a perplexed look, as he walked out without another word. Her gaze turned to Remington, who met her eyes with a serious look. "What's with him?"

Remington sighed, and rose, folding his paper back up and laying it on the table. "You have to understand, Rosette… each of us have our own personal matters… Chrno has issues with the Magdalene Order. Normally he avoids going there at all costs… But please don't pressure him to explain why. He will tell you eventually, in his own time."

Rosette nodded in understanding, and put the frying pan down in the sink once more. So much for breakfast.

--- ---- ----

The car ride was rather somber, on their way to the Order grounds. Remington drove, and ended up flipping the radio on since the oppressive silence was rather obnoxious. Though the annoying country tune that played cheerfully in the background didn't do much to improve the mood, it at least kept her from staring at her boss, who was moodily watching the scenery go by.

_I wonder what's wrong…_ She thought, as she turned her gaze outwards, and watched as they turned onto a road littered with fields all around, as they exited the city proper, and found their way into the suburbs.

The Magdalene Order was a beautiful place, she realized as the car pulled up to the gates, then entered as they slid aside admitting them within. The grounds were gigantic and well-tended to, with sisters milling about the gardens, laughing, talking, and smiling. The buildings were old, and overgrown with ivy and moss, looking for all the world as if they were stepping back in time, into a realm where laughter was the primary ingredient in daily life.

Rosette couldn't help but smile, as she stepped out onto the grounds, and breathed a deep gasp of air into her lungs. Such a place was refreshing to the spirit and senses… Yet she found it distasteful that ANYONE could endlessly devote their life to only one thing, God… she couldn't ever see herself doing that…

Her eyes darted to the side as she spotted movement from the side. Two people were making their way towards the threesome, a tall woman in a habit with spectacles and a stern expression, and a dark-haired man in a priest's outfit. Remington and Chrno faced them as they approached, and Rosette turned as well, figuring she was expected to do the same.

"Minister Remington, Chrno." The woman addressed the two in a quiet, but cold voice. "It has been a while."

"Please, Sister Kate. I'm no longer a Minister, do not refer to me as such." Remington's voice sounded cordial and pleasant, but Rosette could detect a faint tone of icy reprove beneath the warm exterior. Chrno on the other hand remained silent.

"As you wish." Sister Kate sighed, before her gaze turned towards Rosette. "And who is this?"

"Ah, this is our newest assistant." Remington's hand landed on her shoulder lightly, and Rosette smiled politely over at the pair of holy clergy. "Rosette Christopher."

Sister Kate's face smiled as she extended a hand, and Rosette clasped it warmly. "A pleasure, Miss Christopher. Curious business you have entered into…" A flash of something indefinable crossed the Sister's face, but vanished quickly as she straightened. "Now then. Shall we get on with business? This way please."

Rosette blinked a bit, but followed the two men as they fell in step behind the Sister… curiously enough, the priest whom she had not been introduced to, took up the rear, and Rosette was slightly alarmed to see the glint of a steel weapon at his belt… was it common for all priests to carry guns on them?

They were led inside, through several long corridors, until they came to a very finely furnished office, where they were led inside, and offered seats, as the priest took up a position at the door, and Sister Kate sat down in the large chair in front of the window, across from the desk they sat down near.

"Now then…" Sister Kate folded her hands, and shot a quick glance at Rosette, before turning back to the two men. "I'm sure you've heard the reports of strange occurrences happening around the globe by now?" At their nods, she continued, and picked up a file, and handed it over. Remington accepted it, and opened the folder, peering at it. Rosette was able to look over his shoulder and see a picture of a young girl, with silvery pale hair and a smiling face on top. "That girl is Azumaria Hendrick. She's a Portuguese singer who was found in Las Vegas. We believe she's the target of attention for the demons at the moment."

Remington flipped through the file, and then handed it to Chrno, who peered at the information carefully. "Why would that be?"

"It is rumored that her song has healing and calming properties… She was born in the small province of Fatima."

Both the men's heads snapped up at that remark. "Fatima…?" Chrno asked quietly, speaking for the first time since they had arrived. "Then that means…"

"The prophecy is potentially beginning." Sister Kate sighed lightly, placing her hands down on the desk in a clasped position. "We had hoped it would pass… but it seems such things are not to be."

Remington looked thoughtful, as Chrno lowered his gaze back to the photo of the girl, with a frown on his brow. "Chrno… I need your word on this…" All eyes raised to Sister Kate, who was looking very severely across the table. "…that you know nothing more on this issue? Is that the truth?"

"As I have told you before…" Chrno spoke slowly, and Rosette could hear the tension in his voice. "I was not privy to that information. I have told you all I know."

Sister Kate frowned, and pursed her lips together. "I'm not entirely convinced of that. Surely one such as yourself would have had more in-depth insight, having worked with…"

"Sister Kate." Remington's stern voice interrupted her sharply. "Enough of this. We've been over this before."

Her gaze turned more frigid, and she looked almost as if she had consumed a whole lemon raw. "I realize that." She sighed, closing her eyes, and removed her glasses, looking very stern. "The only reason we tolerate your involvement in this matter, is because our faith is placed in someone with more honor and trust than we place in you." The two men stiffened slightly, and Rosette saw Chrno's hand tighten sharply on the edge of the folder. "…if it had been my choice, things would have occurred differently."

"Fortunately, they did not." Remington's voice was suddenly very dangerous, and cold. "Sister Kate, we did not come here to fight with you. Is there any further information you wish to confide in us? And if so, what are your orders in this matter?"

"We're sending a few sisters to investigate the matter. It's under control." She replied stiffly. "We will keep you informed of any new progressions. That is all."

The two men rose, and Rosette quickly joined them, though her head was spinning with all this sudden information. Why in the world was there so much tension in the room? Obviously Sister Kate did not like the detectives one bit, and they felt likewise about her. But the hostility in the room was far beyond something that could result in a misunderstanding… This was something emotional, and deep.

As they exited the room, Rosette heard the priest who had waited patiently behind them, speaking quietly with Sister Kate, before following them out as an escort, as they left her office. They walked down the corridor, and Rosette jogged up to walk beside Remington, as he seemed the more available one to speak with. "Um, so what was that all about?"

Remington threw her a rather sad glance, and shook his head. "It's a.. complication that goes way back."

"You used to be a priest here?"

"Yes…" he admitted with a sigh. "I did, long ago."

"Why did you leave?"

He looked thoughtful, and then ran a hand through his tousled blond hair. "It's complicated… but to summarize, I was no longer comfortable working with an organization which held such narrow beliefs."

Right… yeah like THAT made sense… Rosette sighed. Apparently she wasn't going to get much out of him…

She stopped suddenly, once they had exited back to the grounds, and realized Chrno was not with them. She turned around, and spotted him back at the entrance to the main building speaking with the priest who had followed them. Remington was continuing on towards the car, not having noticed she'd stopped, and so Rosette took a couple steps closer to the building, to see if she could hear in on some of the conversation.

"…please, just for a minute.. at least let me just see how she's doing…" Chrno was saying in a quiet reserved voice.

The priest shook his head, a look of regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry… you know it's not allowed. Sister Kate won't permit you inside, Chrno."

"I won't talk to her… I just want to see her… Guliam, please…"

"I'm sorry… really I am…"

Rosette watched as Chrno's shoulders slumped visibly. "I understand…thanks…" He muttered glumly, before turning and heading back towards her.

She quickly straightened up, and acted as if she hadn't heard their conversation, while her mind pondered over what it meant. Who wouldn't they let Chrno see? "You okay?" She asked as he drew nearer, his hands stuffed in his pockets, making him appear a gloomy figure.

He favored her with a tight smile that didn't spread to his eyes. "Let's go." He continued past her, leaving Rosette to wonder. What was going on?

"Chrno, wait!" A new voice caused the three to pause as they reached the car, and turn to see a small older man jogging their way. "Ah, I'm glad I caught you…" The old man was a strange sight, complete with a priestly cap, and odd malformed goggles over his eyes. "There's something I'd like you to test out next chance you get. Come, let me show you."

The two men exchanged glances, but followed the old man, and Rosette jogged up to their side, as they approached a small overgrown cottage on the very edge of the grounds. The man entered, and as she stuck her head within, her eyes widened at the sight of many strange devices hooked up all over the inside like a maze. Apparently he was an inventor.

"Here." The old man turned, and held a small case out to the tall dark-haired detective. "These are specially made for you. They should provide less of a kick, and avoid a burn when you fire them. I know you asked if I could craft something that wasn't as dangerous as the Gospel, but still be as effective. These are called 'Spirit'."

Chrno opened the case, and Rosette stared as she saw several fine silver bullets laying inside. "Whoa… so you're the guy who makes those big glowey ones?" She asked, peering over at him.

The man grinned widely, peering forward at her. "Oh, and who's this lovely lady…" His eyes suddenly got a strange gleam about them. "Well, young lady… if you come closer… I'll be glad to tell you all about them…"

She blinked, but not knowing any better, took a few steps forward…

She felt a strange motion, as he bumped right into her, his leering grinning face distracting her for a brief moment, before she realized something strange was happening…. Her… yes… those… were being… squeezed….

Her face turned bright red, and even as the old man began to cackle about softness, she lashed a fist out, and smacked him firmly in the face, sending him sprawling to the floor. "YOU PERVERED OLD MAN!" Her bellow was enough to make both detectives jump, and immediately they latched on to both her arms, dragging her kicking and screaming off of the old man, as she fought to tear him limb from limb.

"Ah…spunky…" The old man grinned, wiping some blood from his nose in good humor. "Well worth it… I can see why you like her, Chrno."

The dark-haired detective's face went bright red at that, and he quickly let go of Rosette's arm, causing her to stagger back a bit at the sudden loss of support. "Ah… right.. well… don't mind the Elder, Rosette." Remington said, coughing a bit. "He's always been a bit eccentric from the beginning… and I doubt if he hasn't changed in this long of a time, he'll ever change."

"Speak for yourselves!" The Elder scowled in a rather wounded manner. "Here I go out of my way to make you gifts, and you don't even allow me the blessing of your young lady's affections."

"If you'd keep your hands to yourself, you'd have more luck with women…" Remington muttered, but swiftly turned before the Elder could retort. "We should get going."

Chrno pocketed the case of bullets, and nodded back at the Elder. "I'll test them out next time I can and let you know how they work… what's in them by the way?"

The elder's eyes darkened a bit, and a rather wicked gleam lit his face. "Demons."

The three froze, exchanged glances, and suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. "On second thought… I'll test them in the ammo room… with a barrier up…" Chrno muttered. "Or the whole building will be pounding down our door…"

* * *

_Revised: 02/07/08 _


	3. Chapter Three: Third Time's the Charm

**Demons Etc.**

_Chapter Three: Third Time's the Charm_

_Authors new note: Good grief... you mean... she lives? Oh yes. Fear me. I'm retouching this fic, almost 4 years after I started it. Forgive me, real life problems, lack of inspiration and stuff got in the way, but... I'm back! Look for changes and complete revisions after Chapter 6! I'm touching up a few things each chapter, then re-working it completely starting with Magdalena's scene. Hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! Moriyama-sensei does. Blame him!_

* * *

The call came in the middle of the night, when Rosette had been fast asleep. But the slamming of the door promptly threw her awake, as Chrno wrenched it open, standing in the hallway, light spilling out around him brilliantly into the darkened room. "Rosette! Get up. We're heading out."

"Uh… wha?" She glanced at the clock, and saw it read 3 am. "So early…? What's wrong? Where are we going?"

"To Las Vegas." The detective replied, with a sigh. "Apparently our help is required there after all. Our plane leaves in thirty minutes. Pack quickly."

She blinked, not certain what to make of that, but didn't waste time in dragging herself out of bed, and throwing a few things in a bag, dressing, and dragging herself out into the main foyer, where the two detectives were busy loading weapons into bags.

"Geeze… too early." She yawned, as they made their way down to the garage, everyone looking rather groggy and too tired to be up this early. "Couldn't they handle it themselves?"

Within their time limit, they made their flight, and were soon zooming across country, on their way to Nevada… it would be a long flight, and Rosette was glad for the opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep, as the other two also decided to do.

Several long hours later, Rosette was peering out the window at the vast strip of land beneath them, as their plan touched down in Las Vegas.

The hot wind was harsh against her cheeks, as she had been used to the rather mild cool weather of early fall in New York… here, it was just HOT. "Gah…air conditioning… quick…." She muttered, dying for a cold drink as they piled into a taxi, heading towards the hotel they would be staying at. "How can anyone LIVE like this… gawdaweful place if you ask me."

Remington chuckled, but was drawing a folder out to look at, as Chrno yawned, and rubbed his eyes, looking drained for some reason. "It'll be better at night… we have to wait until then anyway, since we have to locate where the Sisters are being held fist."

They went over the situation as they loaded their belongings into the hotel. Azumaria, the singer, was the adopted daughter of Ricardo Hendrick, the owner of a very wealthy casino. Apparently, some sisters had approached him to ask about his daughter's strange abilities that had been reported, and had gone missing. Since there was no Order headquarters out here, they had been asked to investigate, as there was some question whether Ricardo was involved in demonic practices.

So, it was later that night, when Rosette felt very silly indeed, wearing a glamorous evening gown, on the hand of a well dressed Remington's elbow, that they made their way into the casino. "So…are you sure we can't do a little gambling?" She asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously at the slot machines that lined the walls on either side. "While we're here.. right?"

"Rosette…" Remington laughed, shaking his head in amusement. "There will be another time, trust me. Right now, we should find where our subjects are."

Rosette pouted a bit, but said nothing, instead enjoying swinging her hips in the long dress, though the weight of the gun pressing into her legs between her thighs was somewhat disconcerting.

Chrno was off somewhere infiltrating the higher levels, looking for any clues to the missing Sisters, while they were supposed to locate Ricardo, and his daughter. So far, they had managed to scour the hotel, and come up empty handed, until Rosette had noticed a very faint melodious voice coming from one of the closed amphitheater rooms.

Together, they slipped within, and beheld the scene beneath. Sure enough, a young woman, and a tall man standing beside a grizzled figure in a wheelchair were situated on the bottom floor.

"So…that's them, eh?" Rosette squinted down, frowning at the tall man. Something odd was about him…he just struck her as…strange.

"Beautiful voice, isn't it…" Remington murmured, as they listened to Azumaria sing. "Such a song…it must be something special…"

"Right…" she muttered, not really finding the point to it.

They watched from hiding, as the group dispersed below them, and they decided to separate in order to find out more. Remington trailed after Ricardo, while Rosette carefully sneaked up several floors, to the Hendrick's private floors, trying to see if she could get a closer word with Azumaria.

She never got the chance, however, as an explosion rocked the entire building. "Crap!" She threw her arms around a support, as the lights flickered, and she saw a brilliant flash from outside the window she stood next to. Her eyes darted that way, just as a flash of something large, dark, and sinister rushed by.

Her heart caught, as she pressed her face to the glass, and got a clearer look…

A demon…

In fact… the SAME demon she'd seen that starry night, a few days ago!

Her mouth fell open, and a confused curse came out of her mouth. What the heck….? It couldn't be the SAME one… it had to be one who just looked alike…

But then, she'd never seen a demon that looked identical to another…

Another explosion rocked the building, and Rosette decided as tempting as trying to see the demon was, being next to a window was NOT a good idea…

She ran into the main hall, and slammed face first into another girl, coming the other direction. "Argh!" Her bottom slapped the carpet hard, as she rubbed he forehead, blinking over as she realized who she'd just smashed into. "Oh, good grief, I'm sorry!"

The pale-haired young singer slowly sat up, blinking with wide eyes, before another explosion rocked the whole corridor, and they were suddenly plunged into complete darkness, as the sound of shattering glass and the feel of warm dry air rushed in at them as the window Rosette had been standing at moments before, erupted in shards of light, as something dark, massive, and with glowing red eyes crashed into it.

The young singer screamed, and Rosette gasped, but kept her wits about her, and didn't wait to see what it was that had just burst into their corridor. Instead, she grabbed Azumaria's hand, and tugged on her sharply, pulling her down the corridor opposite the damage. "Come on, hurry!"

The two girls ran top speed, only to find themselves quickly at a dead end, with only a door beyond. Rosette didn't hesitate, but slammed her foot into the door, and rushed inside. They were in a stairwell, with thick black smoke rising up it's center. She glanced up, and noticed the stairs ended only one flight up. "Come on! Hurry! There's bound to be a ladder down at the top!" She rushed up the steps, and heard the gasping breath of the young girl behind her, as she burst out onto the roof, panting for breath from the thick smoke that choked her lungs.

The roof was quiet and still, and there was almost no sign of the battle and damage raging below. Rosette turned to the young girl, and smiled warmly. "Hey, since we never properly introduced one another…" She held a hand out. "Rosette Christopher…"

The young girl smiled wanly, and took her hand tentatively. "Azumaria… Hendrick… Please, don't tell anyone you saw me!" She said quickly, changing the subject as she clasped desperately onto Rosette's hand. "I've been trying to escape for ever… now is the perfect time… please…"

Rosette blinked, not sure what to make of that, but feeling pity for the young girl. From what Remington had told her, she couldn't blame her for wanting to run away. "Hey, no sweat… I'll help you out.." She grinned saucily, and winked her direction. "After all, I'm a pro exorcist…"

"An… exorcist?" Azumaria's eyes were wide and surprised. "Why are you here then?"

"We were actually asked to find some people here… who were sent to talk to you, actually. A bunch of nuns."

Azumaria's eyes widened in recognition. "They came a few days ago. They were very nice people… what happened?"

"They disappeared, is what happened." Rosette walked out further onto the roof, the hot night air blowing her dress around her ankles wildly. "We were hoping to find them here…but so far…"

Azumaria lowered her eyes, a very worried look reflecting in them. "I don't know… my father doesn't let me in on much that goes on around here…"

"Aw, that's okay. We'll find em… once we figure out what in the nine hells is going on here!" Rosette peered over the edge of the hotel's roof, and saw smoke billowing out from the side of the building they had been on. "I swear…I saw something that worries me."

"Ah!" A startled cry alarmed her, and she whipped around to see the tall man appear out of the shadows, looking none too pleased.

"My lady…so here is where you have gone to."

"Relaie!"

Rosette frowned more. It was the guy that had creeped her out…he just wasn't normal.

He completely was ignoring her, and had his arm locked firmly around Azumaria's wrist. "It's time to go. It's no longer safe up here… unfortunately an old enemy has the most unfortunate timing…"

"Hey, moron. Let her go." Rosette yelled abruptly, realizing she couldn't just let this guy take the poor frightened girl away. Not after all this. "Back off slowly, pal." Her gun was aimed straight at the two, and didn't waver…how long could she bluff this though? Surely he'd know she wouldn't fire with Azumaria there.

Relaie's gaze narrowed, and Rosette had the sudden eerie feeling that he was summing her up. "A holy gun. How extraordinary. You must be with Him then…ironic." His cold smile was devoid of any emotion as he stared flatly at her. "You won't fire that weapon, girl. Not with the Apostle here."

Apostle? 

"You're right." Came an even cool voice from the shadows directly behind the two, startling even Rosette, as a shining gun's barrel appeared out of nowhere, reflecting the moon's light eerily.

Rosette's heart lept, as she saw the familiar face of her employer materialize from the shadows, his ruby eyes narrowed and intent, no longer cheerful and friendly, as the gun's barrel leaned against the back of Relaie's head. "Let her go."

"Che… Chrno…" Relaie growled low, releasing his grip on the young woman, who ran quickly towards Rosette, clinging to her arm with wide frightened eyes. "Finally we meet again. Have you sunk so low as to use these tasteless weak methods to fight me?"

"They work." Chrno's voice was cold, and sent shivers down Rosette's spine, as she watched, frozen, as the two stood off against one another. "And I see you've regressed to using a contractor to boost your power."

"No thanks to you…" The hatred in the man's voice was clear, even from this distance with the dark of the night separating them. "So. Do you plan to kill me right here then, Chrno? Firing upon me when I am unable to challenge you? What a cowardly thing to do…unlike the fearsome terror I once fought."

Rosette's eyes widened faintly, not sure what to make of that. Relaie made it sound as if Chrno had been a cold-blooded killer…

But, Chrno obviously took the hint, and the gun lowered, leaving the back of Relaie's head, allowing the tall man to turn slowly to face his opponent, who stepped out of the shadows, long coat billowing in the hot night wind, as the gun was clutched tightly in one hand. "I'll never stoop so low as to mimic your methods. Those gargoyles you unleashed on me were a pain enough." He replied evenly. "Give up your pursuit, Marquis."

Relaie's gaze narrowed intently. "And relinquish the hatred and rage that has fueled my revenge ever since the day you disgraced me before the whole of Pandemonium!? You are more of a fool than I thought."

"A fool who has the upper hand." Chrno replied, turning away from the tall man, and walking towards Rosette with even steps. "We're taking her with us."

Relaie remained silent, his cold gaze watching as Chrno put a comforting hand on Rosette's shoulder. "You two okay?" At her nod, and Azumaria's wide-eyed gaze, he smiled lightly. "There's an escape ladder off on the west side of the building. Go on, I'll catch up."

Rosette glanced back at Relaie's angry figure, and peered up at her boss with some concern. "You'll be okay with him?"

"We have some business to finish up, I won't be long. Remington is waiting below with the ammunition. He found the Sisters, go ahead and head back to the hotel, pick up our things, and we'll go back to the airport."

"Right." Rosette put a supportive arm around Azmaria, and gently led the girl towards the west side, as she watched Chrno turn back to face Relaie, putting the gun back in his pocket as he did so. What was between those two? And Relaie had mentioned Pandemonium… Chrno had disgraced him… did that mean the tall man who had been Azumaria's ward was a demon of some sort? That made sense, considering how many strange things had gone on tonight… still, it didn't explain why she'd seen the same demon she'd seen before…

Crawling down the escape ladder took forever… and on the way, Rosette kept glancing up for some sign that Chrno was following them, but never once saw a form descending. What she did see, was a few bright flashes of light from the roof, and another explosion, that made her suddenly worry that more was going on that might require her help.. but he'd given her an order, and she would carry it out.

She reached the ground, and helped Azumaria down, as Remington jogged their way, the car parked not far off, where several women were sitting inside, all looking exhausted, and frightened.

"You found her, excellent. Have you seen Chrno?" the tale blond man offered a hand to the tired young singer, and peered at Rosette with evident concern in his eyes.

"Yeah..he's back on the roof." Rosette lifted her eyes toward the high rise, squinting up. There were no explosions up there any longer. "He seemed to know that Relaie guy."

"Relaie?" Remington blinked, and looked taken aback. "So…." He mused, a frown on his face. "That's who that was… no wonder."

"Um right… how about you fill me in later." Rosette hitched her dress up and slid into the car's front seat. "Chrno said he'd catch up later… but are you sure he'll be okay? I mean, maybe we should go back up and help him…"

Remington shook his head swiftly. "No, he'll be fine on his own. He's a far more adapt at dealing with these kinds of things. He and Relaie go far back…and from what I know of him, Relaie is no match for Chrno."

Rosette frowned at that, a bit surprised, but said nothing as Remington started the car, and they began to speed off down the strip, away from the hotel.

It didn't take them long to reach the hotel, pack their belongings, and then speed onwards to the airport. By the time they reached there, however, Rosette was quite surprised to see Chrno waiting for them at the bottom of the plane's stairs.

"How on earth…?" She started to ask, but Chrno simply held a hand up, smiling at her, interrupting her question.

"Everyone here? Good, let's get going."

The plane was definitely more crowded with the additional five people, but there was still enough seats for everyone. Rosette changed into something more comfortable as they took off, and slipped into a seat next to Azumaria, who was staring out the window with bright eyes, looking amazed at everything around her. "Hey, how you holding up?"

Azmaria smiled brightly, and turned back towards her, tears brimming on her wide eyes. "Rosette… you have no idea how wonderful it is to be finally away from that awful place…"

The young woman smiled a bit, and felt sympathetic for the young singer. "That bad, huh?"

She nodded lightly, clasping her hands before her with a small smile. "Yes… you see, I never felt at home with them…I miss my real family."

Rosette felt more sympathy well up. Azumaria's real family had all been dead for a long time, according to the information they'd been given. The young singer had been living with her adoptive father ever since he took her away from a troupe of singers…who incidentally also were all dead now. There was a heavy air of mystery that hung around the girl, and if Rosette didn't know any better, it would have appeared the girl was cursed.

Her thoughts turned to Relaie, as their course turned them back towards New York, and Azumaria eventually fell asleep in her seat. Remington snoozed with his hat over his head, and Chrno was reclining in another seat, a book in his hands as he propped his feet up on the adjacent seat. Relaie… who was he to Chrno? The fact the man had creeped her out, concerned her… and Chrno had mentioned he'd set gargoyles loose on him… Such a man either had very strong ties to demonic origins, or himself was a demon, she was certain.

Well, either way, she wasn't going to find anything more by just sitting here.

She yawned, and leaned her head back, deciding to take a snooze in the meantime.

* * *

Upon their return, they made a stop-over at the Magdalene Order once more, to make their reports, and drop Azumaria off. It didn't take long, as Chrno had spent the majority of the flight back writing up the paperwork, so they wouldn't have to stay an unnecessary amount of time.

The young singer was glad to be in a safe place, but professed her desire to see Rosette again sometime, so the cheerful young exorcist promised she'd make a habit of stopping by.

Which is what she was doing at the moment!

It had been a slow week, and they hadn't gone out more than a handful of times on calls, so she had been feeling restless. What was the answer? Go hit a night on the town, of course!

The guys had no problem with her taking the car out to do as she pleased, as long as she was responsible for it. They didn't want to have to buy parts for it if she ran it into a wall. She'd been firmly told if she broke it, she'd be paying for the repairs. But such things didn't bug her in the least, as she grinned cheerfully, pulling to a stop outside a nice café overlooking Central Park.

"Wow, isn't this great?" Rosette sat down in the seat, stretching, watching as the sun sank on the horizon, leaving the park bathed in gold, orange, and reds. "I'll bet you've not seen stuff like this before, huh Azu?"

The pale-haired girl smiled warmly, sipping her tea as she watched the scenery slip by. "No… not like this. I don't remember much of my homeland, but I imagine it must have been very pretty, like here."

Rosette peered over at Azumaria, and looked thoughtful. "Well, now that you're here, you might as well enjoy what you can, right?"

"Right!" She smiled brightly, and nodded. "Though I'd much rather stay closer to you, Rosette… I don't really know anyone at the Order… they're all very nice, but…"

"Nah, you wouldn't wanna live with us. The guys are slobs, nice but slobs…" She chuckled. "I've got to clean up for them half the time. You should have seen their faces when I forced them to organize the office this week. It looked as if the world was going to end. I had them dusting the ceiling fans all day, and by the end of it, you wouldn't recognize the office. It looks rather respectable now."

Azumaria giggled. "You did all that? They must really appreciate you."

"Yeah I guess…." Rosette trailed off, and her cheeks suddenly flushed.

They sat in some silence, as their meal came, and they then dug in, happily chatting, and getting to know one another better. Rosette learned that Azumaria had always been in love with singing, as it made her feel calm, and peaceful, taking her away from the painful places she often found herself in. She had been on the move since before she could remember, and the only happy moments she shared were ones with family and friends, of whom she was in short supply.

Rosette, on the other hand, didn't share her own goals with the young girl. After all, she hadn't told anyone about her brother… that was something she kept to herself, and herself alone.

The two were quickly becoming chatty friends, and by the end of their meal, they decided to take a walk in the park. It was the perfect evening for it, cool, but not yet chilly. The fall was dragging on, and not turning into winter in a hurry, and they'd had a hot spell recently, making it quite enjoyable to walk about in the evening.

Of course, someone should have warned Rosette that walking around after dark in Central Park, especially two females alone, wasn't a good idea…especially when being hunted.

The shadow crossed the moon as the two girls strolled by the pond, and caused them both to glance up, alarmed. What they saw surprised them both. Floating high above, an ominous cloud of darkness, was the largest blimp Rosette had ever seen… why it hadn't drawn attention before now, she had no idea, but whatever the case, the sudden shimmer of light in front of them, caused her to whip her gun out swiftly.

The fact that Relaie appeared out of nowhere just further confirmed her suspicions that the man wasn't a normal guy. The soft green light that bathed around him as he materialized out of thin air, sent shivers up her spine, as Azumaria clung tighter to her arm in fear.

"My lady. Finally we've found you." His voice came across cold and very dangerous, as he slowly approached towards them. "Now, if you please." His hand extended towards them slowly. "Come without a fuss."

Rosette's grasp on her weapon tightened dangerously, as she realized they were suddenly in a very dangerous situation, with no one to save them this time. "Back of, buster. This time I ain't got a reason not to shoot you."

His thin-lipped smile irritated her more, as he slowly walked forward, ignoring her threat. "You are Chrno's lackey, aren't you girl… tell me, what would drive a girl like you to aim such a gun at myself, and not your colleagues?"

"They ain't half as creepy as you, pal."

He smiled darkly, and suddenly she felt the presences of beings behind her, and her head whipped around, realize they were surrounded. "Now… lower your gun my dear, unless you wish to die. We would not harm the Apostle, but you are expendable…"

Rosette felt fear grip her heart. Expendable… well it was true. They were after Azu… not her… but she couldn't just abandon her friend… Her grip tightened.

"Rosette… please don't." Azumaria's voice was quiet, and sad at her elbow, but firm, as her wide eyes looked up pleadingly at her friend. "I'll go with them… I don't want you to be hurt. If it'll help, I'll go. I don't want everything I've experienced here to go to waste."

"You see, the girl has sense." Relaie stepped forward, taking Azumaria's elbow with the finesse of a galloping elephant, and pulling her to him. "Practical, and intelligent." He began to rise into the air, supported by absolutely nothing but pulsing green energy, which surrounded them both, causing Rosette to stare upwards, open mouthed. "Now then…to finish business…" His hand came up, and Rosette realized too late, what he intended to do.

Her hand came up, gun still in it, as she leveled it at him, but the blinding explosion of light was already filling the sky, as the blast of power exploded above her as Relaie released his power directly towards her.

Her heart beat harshly in her ears, as her whole world erupted in dazzling brightness, and the roar of her blood pumping through her veins deafened her before the blast's shock wave could reach her ears. All she could think of as the light rushed towards her, sending her hair whipping wildly about her face, was that there was absolutely nothing she could have done to prevent this…she was helpless before such power….

Her whole world was suddenly violently wrenched to the side, and all the breath was completely knocked out of her as a strong impact behind her caught her by surprise. She felt the breath being crushed out of her lungs, and the wind tear fiercely at her face as her whole world was abruptly skewed before she could blink. At first, she thought that she'd been hit by the impact and was being catapulted backwards possibly to her death, but upon further investigation, she found that the scenery around her was rippling by at an incredible pace, and she was heading straight up through the air, the ground spinning far away beneath her.

"Sheesh… I have no idea what you think you were doing, but next time you decide to play hero, find someone more on your par, okay?"

Rosette blinked, somehow her mind having trouble connecting the dots between her sudden predicament that found her flying through the air, and the fact a voice was speaking in her ear…

Waitaminute!

The sudden panic set in, as she instinctively latched onto the nearest thing to her, which happened to be the chest of a very well built man, who had her scooped up in his arms, holding her cradled close to him. Her eyes jerked up swiftly, wide and startled, as she realized their faces were a mere inches away, and he had about as startled of an expression as she did.

Almost…

But Rosette had the distinct upper hand when it came to rights on being startled, as she got a good close look of just who… or rather… what… was carrying her.

At first glance, her instinct was to blush, for he was quite handsome. But it was plainly obvious that he also, was not human. Though the darkness of the night hid his direct features from her, she could see enough of what was odd about him to know. If the three inlaid red glittering gems in his forehead weren't a dead giveaway, the elongated slightly tufted ears, straight horns rising out from the sides of his head, and sharply slit glittering golden eyes definitely were a ringer. That, doubled with a quick glance over his shoulder that showed a pair of widely spread leathery wings, and a slicing tail made of vertebrae sweeping out cutting through the night like a knife.

Damn it… she KNEW it! It was the SAME BLOODY DEMON!

Her jaw set, and she fixed him with an angry glare. "Now wait just a minute buddy… I didn't ask for your help… and I KNOW I've seen you following me before! First over the city, then in Las Vegas. Are you stalking me or something? Why are you following me around! Huh? So you can capture me when I'm unaware and drain the blood from me? Drink up my soul? Come on, answer me, I don't have all day!"

He nearly fell out of the sky right then and there, face clearly mirroring surprise, as he hadn't quite expected THAT reaction. "Uh…." He choked a bit, straightening his trajectory out from careening back the way they came out of surprise. His golden eyes studied hers, wide, and curious. It was clear he wasn't sure what to make of her.

Rosette growled, and shoved the gun that was still in her hand, right up under his chin, and narrowed her eyes, forcing him to pay sharp attention. "Now, I guess I should thank you for saving me and all, but I'm not the quiet helpless maiden in distress here. And I have a gun. If you want to use those pretty wings of yours to fly yourself back down so I can help out my friend, it'd be much appreciated."

She could see the beads of sweat drip down the side of his face, as he clearly weighed his options. High in the sky with a maniacal girl with a gun was NOT a good place for yourself to be blown apart into tiny pieces. "Right…" His eyes continued to study hers. "But…you can't go against him alone if you want to save her. If you haven't guessed, he's not human."

"No shit." She drawled flatly, not lowering her gun from beneath his chin. At the moment, she was just too overwhelmed to really let much phase her… sure, a strange demon was carrying her… sure, she'd nearly been blown apart by another one… but hell, she was keeping her cool. Her co-workers would have been proud. "So, you take care of him, while I go find her, kapeesh? Then hopefully, I won't have to blow ya up, kay?"

A faint smile crossed the demon's strange features, tugging at something familiar in her mind briefly, before it was dashed away as he didn't waste time in changing their direction, heading straight for the huge zeppelin hanging over Central Park just above them. Rosette turned her gaze skyward, swallowing the nervousness that threatened to rise up into her throat. Good grief, what a night this was.

It didn't take them long to soar up and reach the compartments beneath the large balloon, as the wall was smashed into pieces as the demon plunged right into the side, causing Rosette to squeak out of surprise, coughing the dust from the walls away, as they came to a stop in the dark, dusty, windy corridor on the bottom level of the zeppelin.

"Your friend will be towards the front in the main room." The demon said, as he slipped her down out of his arms, coming to a crouch in the middle of the hallway so she could stagger to her feet. He rose swiftly, his wings closing about him and blending beneath the long sleeveless long-coat he wore.

She took some time to study him as she waved the fine layer of silt away from her nose that caused her to cough in irritation. His hair was dark, and dropped loosely over his face, tapering in the back as it hit his high collar. His long ears and horns poked out from beneath, and she could see a couple gold earrings pierced through each of his extended, tufted ears. He wore a high collared dark vested shirt out of leather, that had several catches along his sides that had fine gold buttons keeping them in place, one of which had a long gold chain attached to it, that fell down to just above his belt where a large ornate gold pocket-watch dangled. His pants were a slightly different, darker shade than his vest, but made of taut leather as well, and fell down looser around his ankles, attached to some tasteful almost military style looking boots with silver braces draped about them. A loose belt was cinched around his waist, gleaming silver in the light, and had a few objects attached to it, one of which appeared to me some kind of dagger, and the other the dim outline of a gun. Over it all, he wore a dark sleeveless long coat, that fit his form tightly, unbuckled in the front at the moment, it's hem falling down all the way to his ankles, in several long straight panels. His spine-like tail dangled over the back of his shoulders, stark white against his black outfit, and twice as deadly.

If it hadn't been the oddities about him, he could have easily blended in walking down the street.

The lights flickered all around them, and then with a dying sputter, went out leaving them in near darkness, save for the light from the moon spilling in through the hole they'd just made in the ship.

"Make sure you find her before this thing gets blown up…" He warned, glancing over his shoulder through the dim light at her.

Rosette frowned, the gun still held tightly in her hand, not wavering from it's aim directly at the dark figure in front of her. "Why, what're you gonna do?"

"I'll take care of Relaie. You worry about your friend."

Rosette's eyes narrowed. The hell was with this guy. Something about him bothered her, but she honestly couldn't figure out what it was. "Why are you so willing to help me?"

She saw a flash of very pointed, white teeth reflecting the dim light as he threw her a grin. "Let's just say our goals overlap, and leave it at that for now." He didn't wait to hear what else she might have to say, however, and turned with a swift motion, and vanished into the darkness ahead of them, blending in perfectly to the shadows, and his footsteps echoing more distant, until all Rosette could hear was the howling of the wind through the gaping hole in the side of the hallway.

"Weird…" She muttered, shoving the gun back into her holster, and beginning to run forward into the dark corridor. "Really freaking weird… I've got a demon stalker…"

Her hand found a railing as her foot tripped against a staircase, and fumbling, she managed to find her way up the stairs, into a lighter section of the compartment, one that was undamaged.

It wasn't any less chaotic though.

At first, Rosette had gone on the defensive, her gun whipping out, as she saw the corridor flooded with figures, and she thought she might have to fight her way through people in order to find Azumaria.

But on closer examination, her gun lowered, as her jaw matched it's position. "Geeze…" Every single person on that floor, was frozen still like a statue. It was an eerie scene, almost as if she'd walked into a still black and white photo. Everyone around her, was frozen exactly in the position they had been caught in… one person in the middle of falling, another screaming in rage, a contorted expression on his face, and a third even pulling a weapon of some sort out of his coat. All of them had odd eyes and sharp teeth.

Weird… very weird…

She shuddered and pushed past them quickly, having the distinct feeling her demon stalker was to blame for this. "Well, at least he's making it easy for me…" she muttered.

It didn't take her long at all to find her way up to the largest room, since every bit of resistance she would have encountered had been conveniently already taken care of for her. Within the chamber, was a sight that even further boggled her. There was a gaping hole on the side, a huge broken tube with a woman's body in it, and a pile of ashes in a large almost throne-like chair. Rosette blinked, stared, blinked again, and put a hand to her head.

"Oy vey…"

A slight groan caused her to turn quickly, and spot a figure laying down in another chair off to the side, hooked up with all kinds of wires and strings.

"Azumaria!" Rosette didn't waste any time at all, rushing forward and quickly unhooking the poor girl from the frightening administrations, and rubbing the side of her cheek gently. "Hey, wake up…"

The young woman's eyes slowly opened, and blinked once, before focusing on the concerned exorcist, and widening. "R… rosette?? What are you…doing here?" Her breath came faint, but as Rosette helped her sit up, her strength seemed to be coming back stronger.

"Hey, can't let that dude do what he wants with ya." She shot back with wide grin. "Though how he got you hooked up to this thingy so quick… yikes… I'm not gonna ask how he did it."

Azumaria smiled wanly, and stood shakily holding onto Rosette's arm. "He's…a demon Rosette. He just killed…" Her voice caught, and her eyes glanced over to the pile of ashes. "…I mean… I guess I'm not mad that Mr. Ricardo is gone but… still… Relaie killed him just like… like that!" She looked up at Rosette with wide frightened eyes. "Then… another demon came in… and they both left through there." She pointed at the hole in the wall, with a shaky hand.

Rosette sighed lightly. "Figures… In with a blast, out with one." At Azu's puzzled look, she shrugged. "Apparently, that demon's on the same side we are, for the moment. He helped me get up here…not sure what to make of that though, since I swear I've seen him before a couple times… I might be able to explain seeing him in Las Vegas if he had something to do with Relaie back then, but not earlier even before we headed out there to find you." She shrugged, then turned her gaze out to the sky on the other side of the gaping hole.

It was altogether a phenomenal sight. The buildings of the city shone brightly beneath them in the moonlight, the river Hudson reflecting it's glare brilliantly as they floated slowly in that direction. It would have been very quiet and peaceful, if their vision hadn't been distracted by the glowing flashes of light

It was almost like fireworks.

Rosette could almost see their figures now and then as they paused, and she could clearly distinguish between the two. The larger one was round, well armored, and a hideous sight to behold… and she could only vaguely recognize that it probably was Relaie… and of course Azumaria confirmed it with a nod as they watched. The smaller form was more lithe, and swift, moving fluidly like water, avoiding the larger demons' attacks, and making his own in counter.

The battle seemed to be dragging on forever, though Rosette had never before seen something so powerful, so intense, and so dangerous, and neither opponent seemed to be getting the upper hand, despite blows dealt, and words exchanged. Rosette sighed. "Right. Let's figure out how to get out of here before those two decide to end their battle."

Azumaria blinked, and glanced out of the hole in the wall. "But.. how?" Her wide eyes lifted to stare at Rosette. "How did you get up here?"

"That demon gave me a lift. It's up to us to figure out how to get back down, I think." Her eyes glanced around, but came up empty. There just didn't seem to be a way down by their own.

"Rosette!" Azumaria's voice cut through her musings, and caused her vision to snap abruptly downward, as a familiar buzzing of an engine met her ears. A plane…? Here? Well of course they would have drawn some attention, but…

The two girls glanced down, and saw a very bizarre sight before them. A few feet off, doing a wide sweep, was a small single engine plane, with one occupant seated in the open-aired cockpit, and one more, standing… no…. crouching on top of the wings, leaning forward talking to the pilot.

Rosette's eyes widened, as she watched the lithe demon converse with the person within, before his hand reached out, and accepted something handed over to him, then his head lifted, and he pointed a hand directly at the two girls, saying something more… but they were too far away for either of them to hear what was being said.

"Damn it! He's NOT gonna do it again!" Rosette growled in irritation.

"Do what?"

"Save me! I'm sick of it!" She grit her teeth, and reached out firmly grabbing Azumaria's hand. "Come on, let's find another way off this joint."

Azumaria really couldn't protest, and followed the energetic exorcist with held breath as they ran down the corridors, passing by the frozen people, and back the way they'd come. Their search didn't prove all that fruitful, however, as they came to a dead end, in a bay where there proved no escape craft for them. "Crap." Rosette muttered, slamming the gun back in her holster that she'd taken out for caution. "Seems we're alone up here, and without a way down."

Azumaria's eyes strayed to the hold in the hull that Rosette had entered the craft from earlier, and peered out. "Maybe…" She whispered with wide eyes, as they traced the ongoing battle.

"Hey, wonder if that plane will give us a lift." Rosette stuck her head out, and peered at the plane circling below, out of range of the battle between the two demons, which threatened to come nearer and nearer to their position.

Rosette could see the blows being exchanged, and bit her lip thoughtfully. This could last all night… and the zeppelin was drifting aimlessly. If they could get to the cockpit and land it…

A sudden jarring shudder slammed her shoulder into the wall, as Azumaria gave a startled 'eek', and clutched her, as the whole cabin shook violently. Just above them and to the right, Rosette watched as the two demons went streaking directly through the balloon's center…. Which of course was filled with flammable gas.

Which tended to explode.

All Rosette was able to see as the bright orange flames licked around the top of the balloon, was the two forms of the demons, locked tightly in a close-combat position, with the dark one pressing a bright brilliant glowing blue blade through the larger demon's chest, though she could see his own hands sizzling at the close contact, as they plunged into the fiery mass.

The whole compartment buckled, and then suddenly gave way beneath them as they were blown clear out the hole as the entire structure began to fall towards the earth as it lost it's support.

Rosette gasped, and her hand found Azumaria's sleeve, but there was nothing beneath her feet as the two plunged down towards the river far below, the wreckage of the blimp beginning to follow them.

Was this it? The plane that had been circling was a good distance away, and even if they had managed to spot them, there was no way it could get close enough in time… and there was no sign of her demonic savior this time.

But something else began to happen instead.

A soft warm glow began to encompass them both, and Rosette felt warm hands holding her arms, as their descent slowly began to decrease in speed. Her eyes slid open quickly, and her breath caught in the exact same moment.

Azumaria was floating above her, a brilliant warm glow encompassing the young girls' form, as a pair of ethereal glowing wings extended from her, keeping them safe, and slowing their descent. The fact that the girl had just saved them, was amazing in and of itself… but to see such a beautiful, and astonishing sight…

It also sent a fresh wave of fear, hope, and longing through her…

She had felt the same feeling from him…the same feeling that she felt now… the calming peace and tranquility of a power far beyond her knowledge.

Joshua….

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_ Revised: 02/07/08_


	4. Chapter Four: Forging Destinies

**Demons Etc.**

_Chapter Four: Forging Destinies_

_Authors new note: Good grief... you mean... she lives? Oh yes. Fear me. I'm retouching this fic, almost 4 years after I started it. Forgive me, real life problems, lack of inspiration and stuff got in the way, but... I'm back! Look for changes and complete revisions after Chapter 6! I'm touching up a few things each chapter, then re-working it completely starting with Magdalena's scene. Hope you enjoy!__  
_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! Moriyama-sensei does. Blame him!_

* * *

"Gah…." Rosette opened her eyes, and squinted at the sunlight streaming merrily in at her through the open window next to her bed. The nerve of it, to rise and wake her this early… Damn she had a pounding headache…

She closed her eyes again, feeling the aches and tired strain from last night set in. She just didn't want to move… but then, she did have work to do. And besides, her bosses didn't know about the 'incident' last night. By the time she'd made it back, it had been late at night, and their lights had been off. Figured, during a major event they were sound asleep.

She dragged herself out of bed, and rubbed her hip, staring out at the busy city below. She doubted the exploding zeppelin would make more than a minor headline…

Her thoughts darted back to Azumaria… the girl was special… no wonder they called her an Apostle. Such power… though it had nearly taken everything out of her, she'd managed to get them both to the ground safely, before passing out once more. Rosette had carried her back to the car, and returned her to the Order, no questions asked as Gilliam had taken one look at her, nodded and thanked Rosette, telling her to make a report and bring it to them when she could.

He'd then promptly closed the door in her face.

That was gratitude for you.

With a yawn, she pushed her door open, after dressing, and made her way sleepily down the corridor towards the kitchen. She could smell toast, and as she opened the door, Remington turned his head, and smiled in greeting as he deposited a plate with some eggs and toast on the kitchen table. "Good morning, Rosette."

She yawned in response, waving a hand, and plopped down in one of the couches, across from Chrno who was reclining, a paper opened out in front of him…

Sure enough, front page, damn it…

Rosette felt her cheeks heat up, as she read the headline, and the small details. No mention of the strange winged angel, thankfully… at least one job had been decently salvaged.

"Long night?" Remington's voice sounded slightly teasing, and she shot him a glare as he set some juice down on the table, and gestured for her to come sit down. "You were gone at dinner a long time, we were worried."

"Yeah well… it turned out a bit different than we expected." She sighed, moving to the table and taking a long gulp of the juice, as Remington slid into the seat next to her, an eyebrow raised as he poked at his egg with a fork. "Let's just say we didn't really 'walk off' our dinner."

Remington smiled faintly. "I saw the papers…and we had a call from the Order this morning informing us that Azumaria was awake and asking if you were all right."

Rosette cringed a bit. "Geeze, word gets around."

"Well, you would have told us anyway." Chrno's cheerful voice cut in, as he slid into the other vacant seat, his hands sweeping a napkin up and depositing it upon his lap in one swift motion, as his glittering crimson eyes studied her with an amused twinkle. "You seem to enjoy making a great scene when you work."

"Oh shut up." Rosette grumbled. "It wasn't my fault this time! That damn friend of yours showed up to make things difficult." She shot him a swift glare. "And you were passed out back here, some help you two are." She glanced down at her egg, yawned again, and stuffed it into her mouth quickly, missing the rather surprised glance they threw at one another over her head. "Besides…" She said, as she spoke with her mouth full of egg. "…I found out somethin' interesting you might wanna know."

"Oh?" Remington asked, taking a sip of his juice.

"Yeah." She gulped the rest of her egg down, and took a bite of toast, after slathering it with butter. "Azumaria definitely is something else…" She quickly explained what had happened, leaving out the rather embarrassing part about the other demon for the time being. "So, whatever special power she has, it's something impressive…"

The two men exchanged glances, and Remington rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So…it's true then. She IS an Apostle."

"I guess." Rosette said, leaning back, her breakfast consumed in less time than it took for her to repeat the alphabet forwards and backwards. "But I'm not quite sure what an Apostle IS."

"Hm… well…" Remington tapped his fingers on the table lightly. "It's…something involving a prophecy made. You heard something about it when we visited the Order."

"Yeah, and was confused as all hell. Explain it to me."

Remington lifted his gaze, and Rosette saw him exchange a knowing look with Chrno, who's brow briefly crinkled a bit, before the expression was wiped from his face and he turned his attention to her, tapping his fork against the plate lightly, in thought.

"Apostles are… messengers of God, so the Order believes." Chrno said slowly, and at Rosette's light snort, his smile played about his face at her mirth. "No, don't laugh, it's true. Originally, they were merely a prediction on paper made by a Saint long ago. There are supposed to be seven Apostles, one for every virtue. These Apostles were rumored to come into existence when the world's balance was threatened…"

"The balance..?" Rosette blinked. "What's that mean? The Great War?"

Chrno looked thoughtful. "That… could be it. However, I doubt it. The Great War was something that was only fought between warring human countries…yet afterwards, that's when demons started coming to this realm in further abundance than they had… so it had something to do with it, but not entirely that alone caused the Prophecy to be made…" He paused a bit and looked distant. "Besides… the prophecy was made years before any of this came to light."

"So what, the prophecy talks about the end of the world?"

"No, not exactly." He clasped his hands together on the table, and for the first time, Rosette noticed they were bandaged. She opened her mouth to ask him what he'd done to himself now, but he was already continuing with his explanation.

"The prophecy warns of a great disaster to befall the world, and to counteract it, seven apostles were to be born with a blessing of heavenly power to counteract the rise of the…opposition."

"Opposition?" Rosette pressed with a curiosity poking her right between the eyes. "And what'd that be? Demons?"

"Not just any demons." Remington said in a low voice. "A specific group of them that rebelled." His cold blue eyes suddenly hardened, and for the briefest moment, she saw a ferocity reflected within their icy depths, that frightened her. "They were to put a chain of events into action that would fulfill the prophecy…however…" Remington's eyes slowly lifted, and Rosette glanced over at Chrno, to see the dark-haired detective meet them, his own eyes narrowed and intense. "…their plans were stalled due to a splitting of interests within the group."

Rosette blinked, not sure what to make of that, and pondered the situation. "So a band of rebels caused trouble, and they were the ones the prophecy talked about as being the opposites to the Apostles, but they had a falling out?"

"In a manner of speaking." Remington nodded once. "They split apart during a critical moment, and as of yet, the prophecy has yet to be put into motion, and the Order had hoped that it would never be so…they had taken steps to insure it would not… however, the Apostles still have now begun to surface. And if that's the case, they're targets of attention, and also indicate that the prophecy won't be fooled so easily by shuffling our cards about in the deck."

"But we won't let the prophecy come about." Chrno's voice was hard, and firm, and his eyes clear and focused suddenly, as he glanced over at her. "We've fought to make that happen, and as long as we remain fighting the fate fortold, we may have a chance."

"I'm not so sure…" Remington began, but a glare from Chrno shut him up quickly, and he shook his head once, and didn't finish.

Rosette pondered all that in her mind, turning it over as she sipped her juice. So, this prophecy foretold a great disaster… and demons were involved as well. Her mind drifted back to the tall dark and handsome demon who'd snatched her from harm the previous night… who was he…? What was he to all this prophecy stuff? Or was he just a rogue agent working with his own plans? She couldn't really begin to imagine what kind of agenda a demon might have… nothing good, she thought. Yet, he had destroyed, or at least she assumed he had destroyed, Relaie last night.

Her cheeks darkened once more, as she thought of his arms wrapped around her tightly. _Geh.. Rosette, you have problems if you get excited at the thought of an evil demon embracing you…_ She wanted to smack her head, but the two men were still there, discussing the day's work. She instead, glanced out the window at the filtered sunlight streaming through the clouds as they drifted in and out.

"Rosette?" She blinked, and turned back to see Chrno staring at her with a puzzled look. _Geh, idiot! You're acting like a fool in front of him…_ Rosette blushed again an grinned lopsidedly. "Uh yeah sorry, what?"

"I asked if you wanted to go deliver your report this morning, or wait until later." His crimson eyes glittered curiously at her, causing her to suddenly get the impression he was trying not to laugh at her.

"Uh, yeah this morning is fine!" She professed quickly. "I got nothing going on… what's our schedule like?"

"We have to check out a report of some suspicious activity going on in a client's basement in Brooklyn, then I figured we could catch the train out to Newark and walk back over to the Order since it's not far."

Rosette nodded and stood up so abruptly, her chair fell over behind her. "Right! I'll go get ready. Anything you need?"

Chrno smiled up at her, obviously amused. "No, just the usual."

Rosette saluted, and quickly high tailed it out of there before she could make a further fool of herself. As soon as the door closed behind her, she let out a sigh, and ran her hand through her rather tousled hair. Good grief… Well, she had to give them credit for putting up with her, though from the looks of it they were used to weird things anyway.

She strode down the hallway, and entered her room, and set about fleshing up into a more presentable outfit for going out on their house call. As she sat pulling her long blond hair into a ponytail behind her, her mind drifted off quickly. Alone with Chrno… Her cheeks reddened, and she suddenly wondered what it would be like to have HIS arms wrapped around her… he'd done it twice before… but… well, she'd been distracted both times.

_Great… you're obsessed._ She bit nearly through the ribbon in her mouth as she wound her hair up, then tied it quickly with said ribbon, and stood up, glancing over her appearance. Yeah, she looked decent today. She bent over and grabbed her jacket that matched her pleated brown slacks, and popped her matching boots on. Yup, professional.

She jogged down the hallway, with her folder under her arm that had the report she'd concocted late at night. It probably was nonsense, but she wasn't about to spend more time re-writing it. They'd just have to put up with her midnight ramblings.

As she entered the foyer, Chrno was already waiting for her, pulling his long coat on, and straightening the collar smartly, as he turned to face her, a knowing smile reflected on his features. He was tucking a Gospel into his belt, and Rosette thought for the briefest moment she saw him shove something gold into his pocket. "Ready?" He asked with a raised eyebrow at her.

"Yup. Lead the way, oh fearless leader."

He flashed her a smile, and together they made their way down the hall, into the elevator and began to head towards the bottom floor.

Rosette couldn't help but shoot him side-ways glances as they rode. He was chatting casually with the bellhop about the day's weather, not paying an iota of attention to her stares, thankfully.

Geeze… why did she get the shivers when she stared at him…? Her cheeks reddened more, and she forced herself to look down, spotting his hands, as they lounged causally in his coat pockets. She'd noticed they'd been wrapped at breakfast, but now that she had more of a chance to study him, she saw that whatever he'd done to himself must have been pretty serious, since his whole palm and upper wrist was wrapped in bandages, and she could see the faint flush of pink burns visible where the swaths had been pushed up by resting in his pockets.

She snorted faintly as the doors dinged once, opened, and she followed him out into the grand entryway. The idiot…

He probably had burned his hands trying to cook bacon again…

The guy was hopeless… He could battle any big demon you threw at him, but when it came to cooking, he was about as safe in the kitchen as a bottle of propane.

"Morning, sir!" The concierge greeted Chrno with a polite nod, and stepped forward, as she and the tall detective paused for him to approach. Rosette noticed he gave her a very flat, hostile glare, before turning to Chrno and handing him an envelope. "This arrived for you this morning."

"Thank you." Chrno took it and nodded to the man, peering curiously at the envelope in his hands, and turning it over as the man left.

"Who's it from? Rosette peered over his shoulder, and saw no label on it. "Do you get things like this often?"

"Sometimes, yes." He admitted, undoing the tie at the top, and pulling the envelope flap open. "People often are afraid to come out and admit they have problems with the occult. So we'll get random tips now and…. then…." His voice abruptly trailed off.

Rosette looked up once at his face, to see his eyes wide, and startled, then lowered her gaze to see what he'd pulled out of the envelope.

At first, she wasn't sure quite what she was looking at. It just appeared to be a crowd of people in Times Square, nothing out of the ordinary. But then, her eyes were riveted upon one single person….

Her breath caught sharply, and she let out a startled gasp.

"….J…Joshua…" her voice shook as her eyes began to tear up suddenly, staring right at the boy amidst the group. Was it possible…? Her eyes were riveted, unable to tear away from the sight of a young boy, smiling warmly in the light, as if nothing were wrong in the whole world.

It took her a good long moment to realize that Chrno had said something the same time she had, and her eyes lifted to his, and saw his face contorted with a mask of conflicting emotions raging across his face. For the briefest moment… Rosette was strongly reminded of… no, that was ridiculous.

Chrno closed his eyes then, and she watched as he strained to reign them in, until finally he opened them again, and she saw he was more under control. "Chrno…?" She asked quietly, and his eyes flickered over to her, ripping away with some effort from the picture. "Who sent this to you…?"

His eyes narrowed, and she saw cold anger flash through them, as his gaze drifted back down. Rosette glanced at the photo, and saw that his thumb was resting over a figure standing next to the boy who looked remarkably like Joshua. The figure there… was tall, dark skinned, with a saucy grin, dressed in a white causal gentleman's suit, with matching hair that was cropped short. A pair of rectangle spectacles rested on his nose, glinting off the light from the sun, as his eyes focused directly ahead, at whoever had been taking the picture… a knowing look in his eyes, directed at the only one Rosette could assume would understand… Chrno.

"Aion…" Chrno replied quietly, his voice tense and filled with strain, as he turned the picture over, finding nothing written upon the back.

"Aion…?" She replied, her eyes drifting back to the photo, staring at whom she could only hope was her brother. "Who is he…?"

Chrno sighed lightly, and slipped the photo back into it's envelope slowly, looking disturbed. "A very dangerous man."

She bit her lip, and lowered her eyes, as he began to walk out the front, each step echoing loudly in her head, as her mind fought to accept what she'd just seen.

It wasn't until they reached the crowded subway station, that Chrno spoke up again, breaking into her thoughts.

"Who's Joshua, Rosette?"

Her head came up sharply, and she glanced his way, seeing he was fixing her with a thoughtful, knowing look. "Um…" She lowered her eyes, and bit her lip thoughtfully. She hadn't been planning on telling him about her brother… after all, it might be considered a conflict of interest with her current job…but then, obviously Chrno had some knowledge of this Ion fellow who'd been with Joshua… maybe they were linked….

Her head lifted again, and she met his ruby eyes with her own glittering azure ones. "Joshua is… my brother." She noticed he didn't seem to be all too surprised by that information, but merely watched her for a further explanation. "He was… well…" She sighed in frustration, as the subway doors opened, and they slipped inside and took seats. She gripped her hands together in front of her, as the cars began to move with a groan and creak. "He vanished several years ago." She scowled lightly, feeling the anger and frustration set in. "The weird thing was, no one remembered him but me. Everyone who lived at the orphanage with us just forgot he ever existed. No records, no memories, nothing. I was the only one who remembered anything."

She lifted her eyes and met his, seeing sad understanding reflected back at her. "I'm sorry. I guess I should have told you guys about it, but… well I thought you might consider it a conflict of interest and not have hired me." She smiled faintly, and looked back down again, feeling a tight feeling in her chest.

But, to her surprise, a soft hand on her shoulder alerted her to Chrno's sympathy, as she looked back up at him, and saw a kind smile on his face. "You know…it's not really surprising if you think about it."

"What do you mean?" Rosette blinked, sitting up straighter, and staring at her boss with a perplexed look.

"Well…" Chrno leaned back, draping one arm over the back of the seat casually. Since the train was sparsely packed, they could lounge freely without bumping into other passengers. "People in this business are always in it for a reason…and normally it's a very poignant and emotional one. You don't just wake up one day and say 'hey I'm going to go blow up evil spirits and demons'. You usually have a good reason for getting into this line of work." He smiled warmly at her. "Every one has a reason. Remington and I both have our own…I actually figured that something like that was your case. A family member, a friend, or a bad experience that created a grudge… but actually, I'm quite relieved to hear it's something more…investigative rather than detrimental."

She blinked a bit, and lifted her eyebrows. "Never thought of it that way…" But now that he said it, it did make sense. Fighting demons and spirits wasn't exactly a healthy line of work. You had to be dedicated in your cause, and ready to take the crap if the shit hit the fan. But it was also good to know that he didn't consider it a liability. "I always hoped I'd be able to find a clue to where he was. So far, I've come up with nothing…"

"Until now…" His soft voice continued for her, and she nodded in agreement. They sat in silence for a little while, before Chrno spoke up again, this time his tone even softer, and Rosette knew he was making sure no one overhead them. "Rosette…did he have any special abilities?"

She frowned, and looked up at him, but he wasn't meeting her eyes. He knew something, obviously. "Yeah…" she sighed clasping her hands together. "You know…now that you mention it, I never put two and two together…" She bit her lip. Azmaria had special properties… and she had been hunted… "He… could heal other people's injuries." He nodded slowly, and she saw a resigned look cross his face. "You think it has something to do with him vanishing, don't you?"

"Well…" He said slowly. "If he really is with Aion, then most definitely…"

Rosette bit her lip, and felt her heart clench. "…he's an Apostle then…isn't he?"

"It's very possible."

--- --- ---

They disembarked the train, and went to take care of their house call without further mentioning Rosette's personal quest. Rosette herself was filled with a new sort of hope, as well as anxiety at the thought that her brother could be closer than she had ever hoped, and yet still further away than before.

Chrno didn't mention it to her, since she felt he was letting her have some time to think over what she wanted to do with this information…but neither did he share who this Ion person was, nor his connection with himself.

The walk to the Magdalene Order from their location was a good mile, but it was a nice day, cool but sunny, so neither of them minded the hike.

Rosette lifted her head, stepping with a bit of a spring to her step, over cracks in the pavement, and leaves that skittered about beneath her, as her spirits were lifted a bit by the cool crisp fall air. She felt better, now that she'd run through the realization that she had hope on where to start looking for Joshua… and she was in the place and position to do something about it.

Her eyes darted over to her casual companion, who was strolling as easily as you please down the street, hair gently blowing in the wind, and coat tails fluttering a bit. She realized that while she had only been here, what a month, she knew so little about him… She knew Remington's story a little, and now Chrno knew hers… yet somehow when she pictured the tall detective, she just couldn't figure him out. What motivation would he have to drive him into this line of work? She got an evil thought, and suddenly imagined a very young Chrno, panting as he raced after his parents, arms filled with guns and a huge box of ammo on his back, following them bravely into battle since he was old enough to walk….

She snickered, and he glanced over at her, eyes innocently wide and curious. "What?"

"Nothing!" She sang cheerfully, grinning widely over at him. The look he gave her suggested he didn't quite believe her. "Well, if you wanna know…" She put her hand behind her head and strolled casually like that, staring up at the clouds. "I was just wondering how you got into this business. I mean, Remington's a disgruntled priest, I'm an orphan in search of her brother, and you…" She raised an eyebrow. "You're just a damn mystery." He smiled at that and she gave him a small pout. "I mean, sheesh Chrno… You've got some real problems."

That made him blink, and a slight confused expression crossed his face. "What do you mean?"

She put her hands down, and stuffed them in her pockets, fixing him with an odd look. "Come on, anyone can tell you've got as many issues as any of us.. if not more. But for some reason, you're just afraid to talk about them, or let others know what you're really feeling." She smiled a bit seeing his stunned look. "Oh come on, it's not THAT hard to see. You're always laughing, smiling, or whatever… but there's always this deep sadness that never seems to leave your eyes, no matter how much you try to hide it."

She stopped, and he paused with her, looking a bit startled. "Trust me, I've learned to tell. Joshua always hid behind a laugh and a smile, but was really keeping the truth from everyone, even me. Chrno, I've never been one to press into other people's business prematurely, and I'm not going to start now. But I think someone needs to tell you this, or something really bad will happen and you'll never get the chance to understand it." She crossed her arms fixing him with a flat stare. "If you keep everything that bothers you bottled up inside, never sharing your feelings and issues at all, then one of these days it's just going to pop like a balloon, which might end up hurting you or others. Sometimes the best thing to do is talk to someone, even if they won't be able to help you, it will still help you feel less pressured."

She put a finger right on his chest, and pushed once, tapping him with a firm meaningful hint. "If you keep hiding everything inside of you, and never open yourself up to others, how do you expect to ever be able to understand yourself?"

The confounded look that he gave her was absolutely priceless, and it took her a good long moment of struggling with herself before finally she couldn't hold it back, and burst out laughing at his face. "Oh man… I take it no one's given you this lecture before, eh?"

"Uh… no… not really." He managed, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Rosette shook her head and grinned lightly. "Well.. think about it. Cause I always think that if you share things with other people, you're more likely to be able to handle what comes your way. If you keep quiet and never say what bugs ya, how do we know how to help you out?"

He rubbed the back of his head, and gave her an embarrassed look.

"Look." Rosette turned and began walking down the street once more. "Like for example… things that really bug me…" She held a finger up. "I HATE not being able to do things. When I'm put in a situation where I can't do anything, I just loathe it. Like yesterday, when that stupid demon showed up, playing hero, I just about flipped. I'm always one to stand up for myself, and never give in to anyone!" She glanced back and squinted at Chrno, who had a very odd expression on his face. "Oh right, I never told you about that, did I." She snorted, and kicked a rock, sending it skittering across the pavement as she growled in irritation. "This demon, I told you about seeing one on the roof when I first got here, right? Well, I saw him again while you were busy with Relaie in Las Vegas… then last night he had the gall to show up, sweep me out into the sky without so much as an apology, and steal the whole show!" She growled, gritting her teeth, and making her fists into balls of frustration. "The nerve of him! First he stalks me, then he goes and takes away all the fun!"

"Um…"

"I mean, would YOU want a demon helping you out on your runs?" She turned to him, spreading her hands in frustration. "It's like asking the chimney sweep to help you clean the living room!"

The look on Chrno's face would have made her laugh normally, but she was still worked up, so instead fixed him with a 'what-are-you-looking-at' glare. The response she got, was just a further embarrassed shift of his eyes, and a slight cough. "Um…about that…"

She raised an eyebrow at him, blinking at his embarrassed look. "What? If you think about it, it's kind of embarrassing. We're supposed to be fighting demons, not co-operating with 'em."

"Uh… yeah…but..." Chrno coughed a bit, giving her another odd look, but stopping as they both pulled up in front of the Magdalene Order gates.

"Geeze…" Rosette pulled out the folder with a sigh. "You think Sister Kate'll be nice to me? She didn't seem happy last time you two were there."

"Then maybe I'll just wait out here." He smiled faintly, glad for the switch of topic, obviously.

She gave him a thoughtful gaze, but shook her head as they both slipped into the grounds, and made their way forward towards the building situated in the middle of the green gardens blooming with fall colors. Rosette made her way inside, and glanced over her shoulder, watching as Chrno strode towards the Elder's cottage. Well, at least he'd be busy.

She sighed as she paused before the headmistress' door, and rapped once.

"Come in." Came the woman's voice, and Rosette slowly pushed the door open, peering in with curious eyes.

Sister Kate looked up, and a smile lit her brow as she saw her. "Ah.. Rosette wasn't it? Please come in, have a seat."

Well, at least she was being more cordial today… Rosette closed the door behind her, and slipped into the pre-offered chair with a faint smile at the headmistress of the order. "Hey, hope I didn't keep you waiting…"

"Certainly not, we were expecting your report some time today." Sister Kate nodded and accepted the folder Rosette offered, and then sat down, and began to read it, nodding once and then. Rosette glanced around the room as she waited, then heard the slight intake of breath from Sister Kate that she had just known would come eventually. Sister Kate's gaze lifted to meet hers, and she fixed her with a contemplative look, before sliding the folder down across the table. "So… a demon assisted you, and you have no idea to his identity?"

"Nope. He didn't really give a name or anything." Rosette grumbled. "Kinda rude of him…"

She cocked her head to the side, and looked puzzled for a moment, then shook her head. "I see. Well then." She tapped several long fingers against her chin. "Rosette…I'm not sure how much I should tell you for your own good, or let you figure out for yourself because you're able." Rosette's puzzled blink made Kate shake her head. "I'm sure you'll discover it in due time, however let me warn you not to become too attached to your co-workers. They may do their job quite well, but they are not easy men to understand and accept, and you would do well to remember that."

Rosette's jaw tightened slightly. "Look, I dunno what beef you have with either of them, but it's got nothing to do with me, okay?" She put a hand on her hip, startling the sister as she peered back intently at her. "Whether or not there's stuff going on here that's way over my head, it's not going to stop me from doing my best. Remington and Chrno are good guys, and there's nothing you can say to me that'll change my mind on that."

Sister Kate's lips pressed thinly together. "I would wager that there is something that could, Rosette, but I won't break their trust and reveal secrets to you without their consent." She sighed lightly. "But you are right. They're good men. They may not have the most…credible backgrounds, but their hearts are in the right place." She sighed. "Which is why we've tolerated their…indiscretions for so long. They're services are deeply valuable, and their skills irreplaceable. No one can do what they can, and for that, we continuously need their co-operation, but if it weren't for circumstances, we would not have even that."

She sighed lightly, and glanced over at Rosette with an interested look, seeing her bafflement. "Were you aware, Miss Christopher, that your two co-workers were once mortal enemies? They hated one another deeply. Yet through a common bond, they were finally able to unite in order to do what was right, and they got past that hatred, and yes…even became friends." At Rosette surprised look, Sister Kate rose up. "What my point is, that despite differences, people learn to work together for a common goal. Sometimes sacrifices must be made for that goal, sacrifices of the heart, and of the body. Whatever you end up doing, whomever ends up assisting you, if you keep your goals firm, then you will never waver." Sister Kate smiled rather encouragingly at the young woman. "Remember that."

"Um…sure…thanks…" Rosette muttered. "Are you done with me now, Sister?"

"Yes." Kate smiled faintly. "Thank you for your report. Please take care."

Rosette snorted faintly and left, heading back down the hall the way she came, glad to be out of that meeting. What on earth was the deal with all these people… Sheesh… she'd gotten into more complex of a situation than she'd initially thought. Poor Remington and Chrno…no wonder they got easily fed up around here.

She sighed as she paused in the hallway heading down the stairs, when she heard a faint voice that gave her reason to glance up, and turn her head to peer down one of the other corridors. Far at the other end she could see Gilliam standing with a group of Militia, who looked ready for battle.

_What's going on?_ She thought, peering curiously forward.

As she watched, Gilliam saluted, and then turned back, spotting her and changing his steps so that he headed her way. "Good morning, Rosette." She nodded her greeting to him, and he stopped before her. "I heard you did a good job saving Azumaria last night… she's quite relieved to be back here. Congratulations."

Rosette smiled thinly. "Thanks." She felt bad taking all the credit, really. "Is she okay then?"

"She'll be fine. She rested a little and is going to have a talk with the Saint."

Rosette blinked, and her brow furrowed at that. "The Saint? You mean….the one who made all the predictions way back when?" She stared, wide-eyed at the priest. "She's still alive?"

"Ah, yes actually." Gilliam chuckled a bit. "She's a remarkable woman, really." His eyes got a little distant. "And a puzzling one." He glanced over at Rosette, and shrugged. "She's been a ward of the Order for about fifty years now, and we try and keep her presence not widely known. But, since you're a field agent, you should know of her existence at least."

Rosette frowned, and looked thoughtful, her mind grasping upon one simple fact, and not letting her rest until she asked it. "Why is it you won't let Chrno see her?"

Gilliam stopped, and slowly turned around, peering at her with a thoughtful look. "I would have thought it was obvious." He said simply, turning around, and continuing his journey down the stairs.

"Obvious!?" Rosette muttered with frustration. "Yeah right…real obvious to everyone but me." She sighed but caught up with him. "So, this Saint's really old then."

"She's over seventy." His eyes traced her passage as they walked to the entryway and stopped. "But she looks no older than twenty."

Rosette's jaw dropped. "Yikes…being a Saint has it's advantages."

"Hm…" Gilliam shook his head lightly. "Well…yes and no." His gaze turned thoughtful. "You've heard of the Sinners, yes?"

"Sinners?" She blinked blankly. "What, people who sin?"

He looked a bit confounded, and eyed her oddly. "No, a group of demons who rebelled against Pandemonium, and were designated outcasts."

"Oh…no."

Gilliam blinked. "The demon whom you co-operated with last night was one."

"OH!" Rosette grinned. "Now that's something to go on." She folded her arms. "So, they rebelled against the other demons, does that mean they're on our side?"

"Certainly not." He said firmly. "It merely means they're a rogue entity, just as dangerous if not more. They're hunted by both humans and demons because of their actions. It's not something to treat lightly." He sighed and leaned against the wall. "Well, the reason for this topic is, the Saint was kidnapped by the Sinners over fifty years ago. Whatever need they had for her was quite obvious, since her ability to see the future can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Her predictions were jealously kept and guarded here, so that no one could mis-use them…However, when she was taken, the Order feared they'd never recover her again…" He shook his head.

"Well obviously you saved her, right?"

"Not exactly…" He glanced over her way with an intense look. "We recovered her, but at a cost…when she had left, she had been a smiling calm person with a heart filled with compassion…when we managed to recover her, she had changed. She rarely smiles anymore, and speaks to no one except a choice few. Her predictions are still as vibrant as ever, and help us get an upper hand on the opposition we face, but she no longer seems to be effected, or even care, about what she sees." He sighed. "We noticed several years afterwards, that her illness that had plagued her was gone, and she was strong and full of life…and she had not aged a day from when we retrieved her.

"When we asked her why this was, she simply had smiled sadly, and replied in a distant voice that 'her heart was frozen, as was her life'." He fixed Rosette with a knowing look. "Demons are dangerous beings…in more ways than one. Magdalene is not the same person any longer because of their interference. All the joy and happiness that once filled her is gone, destroyed by the Sinners."

Rosette frowned, not really understanding. "So, what did they do to her then?"

Gilliam shook his head faintly. "They didn't do anything, she claims… However, one particular demon did the one thing that can ruin someone's life forever, and torture them the remainder of their life…."

"He stole her heart…."

* * *

_Revised: 02/07/08_


	5. Chapter Five: Secrets and Mysteries

**Demons Etc.**

_Chapter Five: Secrets and Mysteries_

_Authors new note: Good grief... you mean... she lives? Oh yes. Fear me. I'm retouching this fic, almost 4 years after I started it. Forgive me, real life problems, lack of inspiration and stuff got in the way, but... I'm back! Look for changes and complete revisions after Chapter 6! I'm touching up a few things each chapter, then re-working it completely starting with Magdalena's scene. Hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! Moriyama-sensei does. Blame him!_

* * *

Rosette jerked straight awake, with a scream that she heard echoing in her ears as she gasped for breath, clutching the sheet to her.

She'd had the dream again... The dream of when her brother had been taken from her. She'd never seen it in person, but the scene played out over and over, always a bit different, and still the same. Joshua was taken from her, and despite her attempts, she couldn't stop him from leaving her.

She shivered, despite the warm damp air that clung to the room from the radiator that was malfunctioning…drat it.. that was the second time this week that it'd overheated on her… She sighed and slipped out, pulling a robe on, and slippers, grabbed her baseball bat grumbling sorely as she shoved the door open and started down the hallway.

"Stupid heater…stupid weather…" She grumbled, yawning widely as she pushed the door to the roof open slowly, as not to awaken the two guys this early in the morning. She always hated going onto the roof…it was cold…

With another yawn, she pushed the door open, and shivered in the sharp cold morning air…then stopped. Whose voices were those…? She couldn't hear the words, just soft murmurings that told her someone was trying not to be overheard by those below. She slowly stuck her head around the corner of the cement bunker, and peered across the roof, and her breath caught instantly.

It was HIM.

His back was turned to her, but she recognized that coat anywhere...plus the long pointed ears and strange tail thing gave him away. Her fists stiffened, as her mind swirled.

After she had returned from the Order, she'd done some thinking. That night, she'd come up with something that had made sense in her mind, based on the information that she'd been given. She remembered that a demon had 'stolen' the Saint's heart…and that demon had been one of these Sinners. Chrno had also mentioned the renegade group, so it made sense to her that the demon she'd run into so many times, could possibly be one of these Sinners. If not, he was at least a rogue, not working for anyone in particular, given the Order knew about him, and didn't seem out to destroy him.

Which meant the demon was an unpredictable ally…

But it also stirred her heart a little. Imagine that…a demon and a human falling in love and tragically forced apart for some reason. She was determined to help them re-unite! Yes she was.

She grinned a bit, as she started to take a step forward, but then stopped suddenly when she saw who was with him in the early morning shadows.

Remington…?

Her brow furrowed. What on earth was he doing up here with him!? Were they in cohorts?? Why in the middle of the night? What were they whispering about…?

"I'm not sure how much longer…" The demon was speaking quietly.

"…shouldn't…..hide….but I don't see what….can do…." Remington was replying with a shake of his head. "We need her…."

"Speaking of which…are you doing….?"

Remington sighed a bit and put a hand to his head, and looked suddenly dismal. "Not good. It's getting worse…."

"You should really see to it soon. Let me look." The demon's voice seemed to firm up so that she could hear his words clearer.

What happened next was enough to make Rosette freeze in shock, her breath even holding as her eyes widened in horror.

Remington pulled his shirt open…and she saw the truth.

Her first thought was the light was playing tricks upon her…but that wasn't the case, as rubbing her eyes hard did nothing to rid the vision of artificial implants crossing the ex-priest's chest. From the low murmurs and the looks they were exchanging, Rosette knew instinctively what they were…

Demonic implants.

A sudden fury and rage began to rise up inside of her. This whole time…he'd been keeping it a secret?! From both of them!? A red haze of anger clouded her vision as she stood there, gripping the baseball bat firmly, a sudden urge to USE it, on something other than the heater unit, flooding through her. She almost missed the next few words.

"You should really go to the Elder and see if he can improve on anything."

The elder!? The Order knew about this? Some of her rage left her slowly. If the Order knew…then maybe it was just her who was in the dark. But why? Didn't they trust her?

Her head whirled, but she slowly turned and lay her hand upon the door and slipped back down. The heater could wait… Right now, she had to think things through. Her hand found the door, and she slipped back inside, and paused in the hallway, closing her eyes. It made sense, somehow…that was why Remington didn't go with them on 'house calls', he was worried that he might be a liability.

She sighed and made her way back downstairs, got into the shower, and woke herself up a bit more, dressed, and entered the kitchen. For once, the guys weren't there, which actually didn't surprise her. Remington was probably chatting still with his demon buddy, and Chrno was still asleep, she assumed. She hadn't heard a peep from his room.

So, she instead set about cooking some breakfast for herself, as she sat down, and pulled out the manila folder that had been laying on the table…the one with Joshua's photo in it, and she studied it.

He looked happy…

Tears welled up in her eyes as she fingered the photo. Why did he look happy? He shouldn't be, he was away from her! It wasn't fair… how was it that she spent her whole life looking for him, and he seemed content…

She gripped the papers in her hand tightly crunching them a little, as her shoulders shook once.

A gentle hand on her shoulder, startled her, and she jumped slightly before looking up to see concerned ruby eyes staring down at her.

"You okay?"

She smiled faintly and lowered her gaze, to avoid letting her boss see the tears that lined her eyes. "Uh…yeah…just thinking." She quickly wiped her eyes on her sleeve, pretending she had something in them. "You're up early."

"As are you." He replied moving away, and going to pour a cup of coffee. "Anything on your mind?"

"Eh…" She replied, standing up and making her way into the kitchen to pour him a bowl of oatmeal that she'd whipped up. "Well… I was wondering about him…"

"Your brother?"

"Yeah… I mean… I wonder how he is… He seemed so happy in that photo, but…I mean if he's with that guy you say is dangerous, I wonder how happy he can really be." She glanced his way with a slight frown. "Speaking of which…who IS this Aion anyway?"

Chrno sighed a little, and set his mug down, leaning on the counter peering over at her with a thoughtful look, before running a thumb over the rim and staring into his beverage. "He's the leader of the Sinners."

She paused, and frowned, before finishing scooping the oatmeal into the bowl and passing it over to him. "So…he's a rogue then."

"Somewhat… He has a small knit group of companions to work with, but he's not very well liked by the rest of Pandemonium."

"Figures. So why would he want Joshua?"

Chrno accepted the bowl, and dumped a whole cup of brown sugar into it, making her smile. He always loved his food sweet for some reason…it was one of those little nuances she'd noticed. "Well… if your brother is an Apostle, that's why."

"So…he wants to use his healing ability?"

"More than that." He swirled the concoction and took a taste, still frowning thoughtfully. "He's always sought to gather their power…for what end, I'm not certain, but it's nothing ultimately good for the world, I can promise you that."

"Well, duh." She snorted, and he laughed a bit, his eyes twinkling at her mildly. "I mean, if he's pissed off both realms, then he's not out to earn the Nobel Peace Prize."

Chrno laughed at that, and tilted his mug in salute to her. "That is true."

They sat in silence for a little while, before Rosette leaned over the counter casually, her hair falling down over her shoulders and catching the light, making it glow slightly. "Say…how exactly does the demon realm work, do you know? I mean…who exactly is in charge of going after the 'sinners'?"

"They're a group of demons called Pursuers." He replied, lifting a mouthful of oatmeal up and enjoying it before continuing. "They're powerful battle-trained demons, who seek out the Sinners and eliminate them."

"Sounds like bounty hunters."

"Somewhat…more like assassins to eliminate political enemies of the state."

"Wonderful." She snorted. "So they chase after all the Sinners then? Even that one who's been hanging out with Remington?"

Chrno promptly choked on his mouthful of oatmeal.

"Oh, didn't hear about that." She drawled, with an annoyed tone. "Yeah…I saw him this morning…they seemed to be REAL fond of one another, if you get my point."

His coughing increased, followed by a reddening of the face.

"I always knew that he was odd… figures that he'd have a strange taste in company."

He doubled over, clutching the side of the counter, as he pounded his chest, coughing to get the oatmeal out that had gone down the wrong way.

She blinked at him, suddenly aware that he was overreacting a bit. "Hey, what's wrong? You DID know about that didn't you? And what about the fact that Remington's part demon?"

Chrno coughed a little more, grabbed his coffee, though spilling half of it on the way to his mouth, then cleared his throat and looked up at her with a somewhat guilty look. "Er…well…yeah…I found out about it when I first met him."

She sighed a bit, and pulled a chair up, plopping in it, as she watched him mop up his shirt with a napkin. "So why didn't you guys tell me? Did you plan on keeping it a secret this whole time? How'd he end up like that anyway?"

He glanced up at her, and shook his head, placing the somewhat soggy napkin on the table and looking a bit apologetic. "Well…we wanted to give you some more time to adjust before letting you in on the more…private secrets that this agency has access to." He glanced up at her, and for the first time, she was aware how piercing his eyes were when he wanted them to be. The cut right through her, and even gave her the shivers. "You understand, right… some people aren't just very open minded in regards to demons…when you fight them every day, you can develop a hatred that might be rigidly in place…not very many people are open minded about such things." He sighed again, and gave a small smile. "As for how it happened, I think that's for him to tell you."

She lowered her gaze, staring at the picture on the table once more before she sighed slowly and nodded. "I understand I think…" She had to admit…knowing this about him, she was on the verge of judging Remington in a different light than she had before…yet he hadn't changed at all…rather she'd discovered something about him that scared her.

No, she couldn't really blame them for hiding it from her, but... She still wanted to know the story.

"I wish you could have trusted me a bit more." She said quietly. "I mean, what if I had accidentally thrown holy water at him or something. I would have hurt him."

Chrno scratched the side of his head and smiled lopsidedly. "I wouldn't worry about it. He was a priest you remember. He's been exposed to more holy items than I have, and is none the worse for the wear."

She smiled tightly at that, and nodded, bringing her coffee back to her lips. "Well…at least there aren't any more secrets that you're keeping from me, right?"

He flinched a bit at that, and opened his mouth, but the words never came.

**KABOOMM**

The whole building shook violently, throwing her from her seat, right into his lap, but neither of them quite noticed the awkward predicament, as dishes started falling from the shelves, the glass rattled, and somewhere down the hall, she heard a rack of bullets clatter to the ground loudly.

Distant screams could be heard, and from out the window, Rosette's eyes widened in horror as she saw several dark shapes zoom by the window at top speed. "What the HELL!?"

"A…ahem."

Her eyes snapped up in place, and her face promptly reddened, as she realized she was holding tightly onto the tall detective, pressing her cheek into his chest as if she would never live to see the light of day again.

She let go as if he'd burned her, and skidded back with a gasp. "Oh god….I'm sorry Chrno!" She felt her cheeks burn hot as she ripped her gaze away from him, noticing he was about the same shade she was. "I..um…I don't know what came over me."

"Ah.. it's okay." He stood up swiftly, probably more swift than he should have, since he tipped the chair over behind him.

God how awkward…but…it did feel good… Rosette quickly looked down, pressing her hands to the table as she fought to put her blush down. Crap…idiot…

Chrno was already at the window by the time she remembered what had triggered their brief moment of awkwardness. And his face looked less than happy. In fact, he looked worried, and …afraid?

She quickly made her way over to him. "What was that…?" her gaze lowered, as thick black smoke wafted by their window, coming from far below…she couldn't see what was happening exactly, but something in her gut told her that it wasn't just a routine fire drill.

"Come on." Chrno whirled around on heel quickly, not even taking time to grab his coat before throwing the door open, and stalking down the hall. She ran after him, heart beating loudly in her ears as her boots hit the carpeted hallway. Whatever the situation was, they were the front line of defense, available on the scene, and they'd help out no matter what.

He threw the bolted weapons room door open with a slam, and it didn't register until they were stocking bullets into their weapons, that she hadn't seen him use a key.

"Hurry. Bring the Gospels and …." His eyes strayed over to the back row of weapons, and Rosette saw what he was eyeing. "…bring that too."

"Are you sure?" She asked quietly, not wasting time in grabbing the Spirit gun like he asked, and holding it warily. "The Elder said it contained a demon…"

"If so, we'll find out soon enough. But no time like the present to test it." He joked mildly, with a wink at her as he snagged a cruciform barrier set.

She grinned wildly back at him, excitement pummeling through her like a drug. This was the life…shoot first, ask questions later.

Together, they ran down the corridor, slammed open the emergency staircase, and began pounding down. "Wadda ya think it is?" She asked, her breath ripping through her lungs as they practically flew down the metal enclosure, taking whole flights at a time.

"Nothing good." He panted back, giving her a swift look. "I have a feeling. Be ready for anything…" He lept down the last set, and put a hand on the handle, pausing to give her a stern look. "There will be innocent people around. Be careful whom you shoot at."

"Right."

With that final note of caution, then burst out the door into the main lobby.

And what a sight it was.

At first, they coughed as thick smoke rolled towards them, but after stumbling a few feet, it cleared, and Rosette could clearly see the disaster that stood before them.

There were five of them. All demons. Each with several humans cowering a few feet away, and several figures laying on the ground scattered about. Half the front of the building was gone, bits of brick and mortar falling down in plumes of dust, as screaming crowds fled from the streets outside.

Rosette gulped hard. Five demons… and all of them humanoid…all of them with large horns, and every single one of them deadly looking.

She gripped the gospel tightly in her hand, but a motion to the side caused her to glance at her partner, and see his hand raise to stop her, as he threw a quick glance down.

"Let me talk to them first…" He spoke softly. "If that fails…then we fire…but there are still innocents alive here…we can't risk harming them."

She nodded slowly, and switched her hand to grasp a Sacred instead. Those at least wouldn't harm the humans in the room unless they were close. "What are you going to do…" She whispered, fear clenching her chest a bit. "There are five of them Chrno…maybe more."

"I know." His voice was calm and warm, and she was quite startled when he threw her a kind smile. "Maybe they just stopped for directions."

She twitched a bit, but didn't get a chance to retort as he strode forward, his boots echoing loudly in the destroyed hall, as he stepped through the smoke, and stopped.

The five demons all turned his way, and stirred a bit, as one of them laughed coldly, stepping forward. "Well well well….what have we here… if it isn't Chrno…" There was cold laughter from the others, and Rosette felt something cold tug at her chest. How did they know him… everyone seemed to! "Took your sweet time in showing up." The large demon smirked widely, showing rows of sharp teeth, as the others laughed more. "And here we were about to start on appetizers while we waited for the attraction to make his appearance."

Chrno's eyes narrowed, and Rosette could sense the barely contained fury evident beneath his calm exterior. "All this trouble for me? And here I thought I was low on your priority list of 'most wanted'."

"Ha!" the demon snorted. "You overestimate your importance. You're first on the list…because you're the easiest to destroy."

"I see you're not one for flattery." Chrno continued to stand there calmly, hands in his pockets as if he were merely having a conversation with someone about the weather. "Well then…if pleasantries are out of the way, why don't we move this outside where we have more room."

"I like it in here." It growled, showing more teeth. "Besides…" The others began to move forward. "It's more fun when your prey is cornered by a petty human conscience." His hand whipped out, and a brilliant streak of light shot from it, and exploded into the concierge desk, exploding the row of lights behind in a shower of sparks, as some of the staff who had been hiding there screamed in terror.

Chrno's eyes narrowed further, and Rosette bit her lip. They were as good as dead here. They couldn't use their big guns without the loss of life around them…what were they going to do…!?

Chrno's head lowered a bit, and then slowly lifted, and Rosette saw a rather…disturbing smile on his face. "You know…for Pursuers who are trained assassins… you certainly don't have the most observant bunch following you around like flunkies…"

"What!?"

Rosette saw what he was doing in an instant, and grinned, grabbing her Sacred, and pulling it up level at the demons before her, the moment his hand flashed out, and four golden darts of light slammed into the ground in a specific place on either side of the demons.

"Wha..?" It just hand time to utter, before an exploding barrage of bullets began to rain through the barrier, detonating as they struck the Pursuers with deadly accuracy.

The whole room was filled with brilliant explosions, screams of terror and pain from the various parties sounding around them, as Rosette let loose a full round in each gun in her hand, and Chrno did the same until the empty clicking was heard from both of them, and they instantly met gazes. "Hurry!" He hissed, kicking one of the cruciform crosses over before diving through the barrier just as it fell, running full speed for the door. She didn't waste time in following him, hearing their opponents bellowing in rage behind them as they hit the streets.

"Well that was fun!" She panted, as she trailed him. "Just a walk in the park, eh?"

"All in a day's work." He shot cheerfully back at her, as he turned the corner. From behind them, the sound of the Pursuers pursuing them came louder, as the crashing sounds shook the streets with their reverberations.

Rosette knew they couldn't run forever, but she also had no idea where exactly it was that Chrno had a mind to get to… that is, until she saw the open expanse before them, and her heart jumped.

Well… on the plus side, there was room to blow the Pursuers to smithereens…on the down side, if they played it wrong, they'd be going for a very cold swim in the Hudson River, as the Brooklyn Bridge loomed before them.

Chrno pulled up short, and panted a bit, glancing at her. "Rosette…" She glanced quickly at him. "…Go. Run to the middle of the bridge… try to stop traffic if you can. I'll hold them off until we have a clear shot, then use the Gospel only when they're close enough…okay?"

"Right!" She agreed, but stopped short before she took off. "But what are you going to do?"

"Distract them."

"Oh…right…" She blinked, and whirled around. "DISTRACT them!? How the flying f….?"

"Just go!" He urged, and she needed no incentive, as the forms of the five demons burst out of the city behind them, sending people screaming and scattering in terror.

Her feet hit the pavement hard as she ran, reloading the guns while she was at it, hearing cars screeching to stops and people crying out and pointing in alarm at the flying figures that were coming to a stop at the end of the bridge.

By the time she reached the middle, the whole bridge was vacant, and the city seemed eerily empty spread out beneath her in the early morning light.

Her eyes missed the beauty that bathed the city, however, as her mind was focused on simply one goal.

Chrno stood tall as the five demons landed before him, hands once more in his pockets, looking as cocky as you please. At this distance, she couldn't hear their words, but it didn't take long for the action to begin, thankfully. In one swift movement, Chrno threw himself to the side as the five lunged at him, and there was a brilliant explosion of light that forced her to shield her eyes as they collided. Rosette was forced to watch with held breath, as brilliant flashes of light ensued, a few explosions of Sacreds and screams of rage emanated from the center.

Why was this all happening, she wondered as she watched intently, her hair whipping free of it's ties to smack her in the face as the wind kicked up. After all, they were just an exorcism agency…they dealt in demons, but she hardly thought that an exorcist would be so dangerous that these Pursuers would consider him a threat…

Her eyes snapped up abruptly, as a form rose up before her, streaking directly for her with a snarl of rage. Damn it! One of them had broken loose from the fray! Her gun lifted instantly, locking on the flying form, as she stood taller, a fierce determination washing through her, as she calmly stood before her adversary.

Why was it in the face of extreme danger, you always found the center deep within you, and pulled it out just in time to meet said danger head on…

And then have it blow up in your face…

When she'd pulled the trigger, she had been counting on the fact that the bullet would knock the demon back away from her, over the edge of the bridge. What she HADN'T been counting on, was the explosion from the bullet knocked HER full across the expanse of the bridge, and up against the railing on the other side.

The breath was knocked from her by a strong blow to her shoulder, as her back hit the metal lattice work. "Crap!" She wheezed, staring at the gun in her hand with wide eyes. "Aw crap…" She'd grabbed the wrong one! It had been the Spirit!

A huge blast of wind exploded in front of her, as she heard a roaring fury of agony from the demon, met by another howling rush, as the monster that had been contained in the bullets' chamber, rushed out to meet it head on. The resulting collision was so strong, she felt her body being lifted, and tipped over the edge of the railing. It was only by pure chance and luck that she managed to grab a hold with one hand, screaming briefly as she felt the air beneath her feet swirling around as she dangled precariously, high above the icy churning waters of the Hudson.

Fear clutched at her, as she hung there, her other hand still holding the Spirit gun, now empty, as she watched blinding light and wind swirl around her, sending flying shards of debris shooting towards her, slicing into her clothing and flesh like sharp knives. She wasn't sure just how long she could hold on… in fact…her grip was slipping as she realized that, and she struggled to maintain her failing hold on the railing.

Another explosion rocked the bridge, sending cables swinging from their holding points, and filling the air with snapping creaking noises that were not the sort of thing you ever expected to hear outside of a late night radio drama. The only thought that struck Rosette as her hand slipped free of the railing was that the gun had really had far too strong of a kick for anyone to use reliably.

"Rosette!!!" A bellow from above her drew her eyes skyward, as the bridge slowly fell away from above her, and she saw the panicked face of Chrno leaning over the railing, watching her fall. His face was stricken with a brief look of panic, which tugged at her heart, as she realized there was no way he could save her this time…

But to her astonishment, it appeared he was going to try.

He vaulted over the edge of the railing, and dove straight off the edge of the bridge, aiming directly at her, arms outstretched, and face intense as she watched… he began to pick up speed…how was that possible… he was gaining on her?

Her breath caught, as a flash of realization struck her, the very same moment she watched a pair of ebony black wings expand from his back, as a subtle, but obvious change washed over his intensely focused features, his clothing disintegrating and re-forming flawlessly in the simple moment it took for her lashes to blink once. A sudden feeling of suffocating embarrassment washed through her, as his strong arms embraced her tightly, wings catching the air as their descent abruptly slowed, and they soared out across the water, barely skimming the placid surface of the frigid water beneath them.

It was so strange…she thought, as her eyes slowly lifted to gaze at the side of his face, watching his hair whip around the ivory horns streamlining his head, and teasing at the long tufted ears jutting away from his head. Strange…that this whole time…

Oh crap… I insulted him and suggested he was gay! 

Her face turned cherry red at that thought, and she ripped her eyes away from his face, instead focusing on the rushing scenery around them. They quickly approached the near bank, and then slowed abruptly, his wings sweeping strongly once, before they touched down lightly on the boardwalk, kicking up no more than a small swirl of dust as his feet touched the ground. He slid her gently out of his arms, but kept a firm grip on her shoulder as he turned around, gaze sweeping back the way they'd come. She glanced up at him again, flushing more, as she wanted to curse herself.

My god…how could I be such an IDIOT!? 

He turned back to her swiftly, concern crossing his face as his golden eyes studied her. "Are you okay, Rosette?"

His head reeled back suddenly, as her fist connected solidly with his cheekbone.

The look of complete astonishment on his face, didn't even draw her notice, as she whirled on him, whipping a gun out and slamming it right up under his jaw, just like she had done the first time she'd met him in this form. He froze, one hand still on her shoulder, the other behind him, his wings half furled, and his eyes wide.

Her eyes burned intently, as she locked gazes with him, blazing azure orbs locked on glittering golden ones. "I should beat the crap outta ya." She grumbled in a voice that would have raised the dead. "You and Remington both."

He just blinked back at her, not daring to move, as the small blond exorcist held him an arms length away from sending him into oblivion. There was a tense silence, as they both regarded one another.

"Rosette..?"

"What."

"The gun's empty."

"Yeah. I know."

She lowered her arm, and took a few steps back, twirling it on one finger before slamming it back into her holster with a saucy smirk. "But boy it felt good to see you squirm. Payback's a bitch."

Chrno sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit, as he shook his head, giving her a highly amused smile, before rubbing his jaw. "You hit me!"

"You deserved it!" she snorted in return, folding her arms and facing him. "God, now I feel like the world's biggest idiot." She flushed a bit more, and suddenly looked apologetic. "Does it hurt much?"

He simply smiled at her, before turning around and facing the bridge, his wings folding down and seeming to blend into the shadows of his long coat that billowed faintly in the morning wind.

She stepped up to stand next to him, and fixed her gaze on the horizon with a frown, as they watched the residue of bright glowing energy spreading over the bridges' expanse. "So… did you take any of them out?"

"Two." He replied, pulling out a gun from his pocket, and eyeing the empty cartridges before beginning to re-load. She found it rather interesting to watch him flip the bullets into the barrel with sharply pointed talons, as normal as you please. "And you probably got one with that monstrosity the Elder so kindly jammed in that bullet for us."

"Yeah what was WITH that thing…" She grumbled, trying her best not flush the more she looked up at his exotic features. "It's like…worse than the demon I fired it AT."

"He always did have a crazy sense of humor." Chrno flashed her a grin complete with sharpened canines that glittered faintly in the dawning light. "Along with other things."

She snorted and flexed her fist. "I owe him another poundin' for this." He laughed softly, and she felt the awkwardness of their situation slowly begin to melt away. "So… do you think they're done today?" She glanced back at the bridge, seeing no sign of the Pursuers any longer.

"Probably not." He mused, slipping the gun back into one of the holsters on his hip, his hand brushing against something that caught her eye. She realized she'd seen it the time before when they had been flying over the city in the dying blimp. It was a beautifully crafted device, but it looked old and worn as well. It was a golden pocket watch, whose face was covered by a thick glass, set on a heavy gold chain and attached to his belt through a series of loops and knots. It looked as if it had joined him in many a battle, as it had deep scours and blemishes, that gave it a distinguished look.

She wanted to ask him about it, but she realized that most likely now was not the time. "We should get going then." She said, taking a step forward. "They'll need help back at the building since…" But her words were abruptly cut off, as she heard a sharp gasping choke from behind her.

The sight that greeted her sent sharp chills down her spine.

Chrno's face was contorted with surprise and pain, as he slowly lowered his gaze to fix upon the bladed limb that was protruding from the center of his chest.

"Chrno!" Rosette whirled, her hand falling automatically to her weapon as her heart pounded hard in her chest, watching him cough some blood out, as his head turned to give him view of the demon leering behind him with a smirk.

"You've grown sloppy, Sinner." It growled, the other arm reaching forward towards his victim's face, an eerie glow beginning to light it. "You never would have let your guard down before, living among humans has softened you."

Chrno's eyes narrowed, and then started to glow, as a faint wind started to pick up around the two of them. Rosette instinctively knew enough to take a quick step back, even though it appeared the ugly Pursuer had the upper hand, as he continued to hold his bladed hand firmly locked through the gaping hole in Chrno's chest.

What followed happened so swift, she nearly missed it entirely. First, she saw Chrno's left hand come up and grasp tightly onto the blade protruding through his chest, a brilliant golden light emanating from his palm. The Pursuer appeared startled, but attempted to withdraw, only to find himself unable to do so, as a strange gray pattern slowly creeping up his limb as a swirling mist surrounded the two of them. It bellowed in rage, and raised his hand, the glow intensifying as he prepared to strike back, when suddenly his whole body shuddered, and he gave a cough, surprise flashing over his features.

A glowing blade of blue energy was jammed straight through it's chest, humming with energy, and sending black streams of miasma up, as it burned straight through him slowly. "H….holy….blade…" the Pursuer choked, eyes wide and focused on the hilt that Chrno held tightly in one hand, as it angled directly back behind him in a nearly impossible position, gripped tightly in his hand like a dagger.

Chrno's eyes were narrowed, and gleaming with deadly intent, but Rosette also saw the hand that gripped the blade was blistering and burning as well, as the close proximity to the runic holy energy harmed him about as much as it harmed the one it was jutting straight through. "And you…" Chrno hissed in a low voice, though blood dripped down the side of his mouth and onto his blood soaked shirt. "…should learn not to underestimate humans."

An explosion of light rocketed the entire boardwalk abruptly, sending Rosette flying back a good twenty feet, and skidding to a halt just before she tipped back into the river. She lifted her head sharply, eyes wide, and gun raised, ready to unleash a barrage, but hesitating now that she knew her weapon would have the same effect on her boss, as the enemy.

However, as the light died, and the smoke cleared, she relaxed her offensive posture, as she saw it was unnecessary after all. There was no sign of the Pursuer, save a few blackened ashes drifting lightly through the wind around Chrno's kneeling form.

"Chrno!" She dove forward, catching his shoulders as he slumped over, clutching the bleeding wound in his chest with one hand, the other limply holding the runic sword's hilt, blade now banished. "Damn…" She tore her jacket off, and pressed it to his chest quickly, throwing a quick glance to his sweat drenched face. "Hang in there… we'll get you some help quickly." But she paused, as she realized with a jolt, what hospital would treat a demon?

"Eh…it's not that bad. I've seen worse." He murmured with a faint chuckle that turned into a cough, as he spit more blood out. "He was right though…I've grown sloppy."

"Bah, what're ya listening to him for." She snorted, reaching around him and pulling his heavy sleeveless coat off so she could tie her jacket around his torso, to attempt to staunch the blood flow. "He was the one who was so rude to interrupt our nice little chat." She hefted his arm over her shoulder and helped lift him to his feet. "Some people have no sense of timing, really."

He chuckled at that, leaning on her slightly as she started leading him forward, slinging his coat over his shoulders to hide his features that stood him out sharply. There was nothing she could do about the rest, so she only hoped no one would look twice in their direction as they made their way down through the city.

She couldn't help but feel somewhat mystified at this whole situation, as she shot a glance at his strained face, wondering what he was thinking. All the small clues and hints that had been slowly accumulating were combined together in her mind, as she reflected. What irked her the most, was every time she'd brought it up, he'd tried to tell her…and somehow she'd always been oblivious to it.

She wanted to mentally smack herself.

But the one good thing, she reflected with a smile, was at least now, she finally understood him to a degree…and found she didn't dislike what she'd discovered in the least…

* * *

_Revised: 02/07/08 _


	6. Chapter Six: Magdalena's Legacy

**Demons Etc.**

_Chapter Six: Magdalena's Legacy _

_Authors new note: Good grief... you mean... she lives? Oh yes. Fear me. I'm retouching this fic, almost 4 years after I started it. Forgive me, real life problems, lack of inspiration and stuff got in the way, but... I'm back! Look for changes and complete revisions after Chapter 6! I'm touching up a few things each chapter, then re-working it completely starting with Magdalena's scene. Hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! Moriyama-sensei does. Blame him!_

* * *

Weaving their way back through the city didn't take long, it was trying not to be seen by many of the fleeing crowds that made it tough. In the end, they managed to slip back in through the rear exit to the building, and make their way up the stairs back to their floor without being seen. Most of the attention was being directed to the foyer, which unfortunately had suffered grievous damage. 

"On the plus side…" Rosette panted, as she kicked the door open, and helped him into the hallway. "Maybe they can renovate and make it less stuffy downstairs."

"You know it's coming out of our pay." He replied, as she fumbled with the door, pushing it open for him. "Since technically it is our fault…and they know it."

"Bah, no one can prove it." She said, kicking a chair out of the way as she led him to the couch, and helped him sit down. "It could just be coincidence."

"Somehow I doubt the authorities will go for it." He murmured, pulling the coat off, and pulling at the jacket she'd tied about his torso.

"Hey lemme do that." She chided, pulling a first aid box down from the cupboard and walking over towards him with a stern look. Frankly, she was worried sick…most people with injuries this serious would be in desperate need of attention, but he didn't seem too bothered by it, which made her wonder if his properties were different from most people. Whatever the case, when she pulled the bloodied remains of her jacket off, she blinked a little, as she saw the wound appeared quite a bit smaller than she had expected, and strange patterns lined his chest around it, taking on a harder consistency than she had expected.

She shook her head swiftly, and began to swab lightly, glancing up at him quickly to see how he was doing, before going back to her ministrations. His eyes were closed, and his face calm, but she could see a troubled crease on his brow nonetheless. "Hey… you okay?"

His eyes slipped open, and shifted down to her, and he smiled faintly, though she could see the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Ah…don't worry about it." He said simply, and she shrugged lightly, returning to bandaging his torso as he patiently sat there.

She frowned but sat back as she finished, and then reached forward, and grabbed his palm, and eyeing it.

"Man, you really did a number here." She commented dryly, as she gently began to wrap gauze around it. "It's almost worse than the other one." She peered up and her eyes locked on the runic blade attached to his belt. "Why do you use it if it burns you?"

"Because it's effective." He replied gently, with a knowing smile, as he gazed down at her.

"Same goes for the guns…what if you shoot yourself in the foot or something, geeze." She snorted, "…its suicidal."

His smile just widened, and she saw a hint of laughter in his eyes as he closed them. "It's worth the risk."

Rosette frowned, and studied him with narrowed eyes. It was true that many of her previous questions regarding her boss had been answered by discovering the simple truth of his identity, but…now many more questions opened up to her, the more she thought about it. He seemed so willing to sacrifice himself to the cause…granted he was able to take more damage than any normal guy, but still that didn't excuse the attitude he had. No one should have such a selfless outlook, where they were willing to give anything up for the cause. To her, that was pointless, since it only achieved a cause in the most cowardly way.

Yet then, why was he doing this in the first place? Fighting demons when you WERE a demon seemed oxymoronic to her, and though she knew there were various factions that opposed one another, she couldn't help but wonder what his motivation for doing this was. But then, she remembered humans fought each other every day, even had wars of global proportions, she shouldn't be entirely surprised.

Her eyes lowered and her gaze landed upon the glinting gold of the pocket watch. Her hand reached out, and slipped over it, lifting it up so that the light from the window gleamed faintly off it's centerpiece that held a faint red gleam beneath the dials. The hands were locked in position, not counting down or up, which made her think at first it was broken…but then, she realized that the red hue illuminating the dial wasn't coming from a reflection behind her, but from within the clock itself.

His eyes opened slowly, and his gaze lowered as she turned it over, running a thumb over the smooth glass. "This is precious to you." It was a statement, not a question, and she felt a soft sigh from him in affirmation. "What exactly does it mean."

His hand slipped down, and covered hers as she held the clock carefully in her palm. She lifted her gaze upward in time to catch the pained look of sorrow cross over his face, and she immediately knew she'd struck a personal note within him. She almost spoke up to tell him to forget it, but he spoke quietly before she had the chance to protest.

"It was given to me by a friend, long ago…" His voice was heavy with emotion, but so mixed that Rosette couldn't really distinguish what precise emotion dominated his tone. His hand lifted slowly, and cupped beneath hers, lifting it up so that she could see it better. "It's a very unique device…that protects something even more precious."

"And what would that be?" her breath came out soft, as the atmosphere became such that she feared anything above a whisper would be breaking the mood.

"Life."

Her head lifted quickly, and her eyes widened a bit. "Your life?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and his eyes lost some of the haunting pain that lingered there. "No, not mine. Someone else's."

Something clicked in Rosette's mind.

"Normally…" He was continuing oblivious to her sudden change of posture. "…it's designed to facilitate power to a demon who's lost his horns."

His hand slid over to the top, and with a soft clink and snap, the entire watch function snapped open suddenly, making her jump a bit as red power crackled around the watch, and the glow brightened considerably, the dials in the center suddenly springing to life and spinning around rapidly.

It was an amazing sight, and Rosette held her breath a bit, as she tied the last gauze wrap around his right hand, before dropping it, to slowly pick up the watch in both hands, and stare at it in wonder.

"It…can also act as a liaison in another way." His tone seemed to have changed subtly, and Rosette lifted her eyes, watching him closely, as she saw his breathing suddenly grow slightly more shallow as sweat beaded his forehead. Apparently there was a link between the device's functions, and his sudden symptoms.

His talon tapped the watch face lightly. "In this case…It allows me to guard someone else's life with my own."

Rosette smiled slowly, as she put two and two together. "Now I understand…" She looked up at him with a keen smile. "At first I thought it was sad, the story between you and her… but now it seems that you've had a card left to play this whole time."

His eyes twinkled mildly at her, as he twisted the knob once more, and the device snapped shut again, the glow dimming a bit. "No one else other than Remington knows about this…so…"

"Right, not a word." She patted his injured hand with a smirk, and watched him flinch a bit. "Sorry." Her face heated a little, but she felt somewhat estranged, now that she knew he still had someone he deeply cared for, enough to protect her life with his own. It was sad still, she thought, that he wasn't allowed to see her.

Behind them, the kitchen door burst open violently, as someone charged through it, causing them both to jump in alarm, and glance that way.

"Chrno! Thank god you're here… I…" Remington stopped short, blinking a bit, as he suddenly realized just what he was interrupting. Rosette's face deepened in her blush, and Chrno also looked a little pink, as they exchanged glances, and the blond exorcist quickly dropped the demon's hand and fumbled with the first aid kit. "Are you two all right?" Remington slowly stepped in, glancing between them with a worried look.

"Oh yeah just peachy." Rosette rose to her feet, and hastened to put the kit away in the cupboards. "I mean, gee, we beat up some pursuers, had a nice chat, and nearly got impaled several times… well…" She threw a glance at Chrno and smirked. "He didn't avoid that one, but I guess he's tough and can handle it."

Remington ran a hand through his loose hair, and gave Chrno a contemplative look, before shrugging lightly and spreading his hands. "Well, if everything's out on the table then…"

Chrno nodded, his form shifting and shimmering as suddenly he changed back into his more socially acceptable guise. Rosette noticed the precious watch went from dangling at his belt, to carefully being tucked in his front pocket. The bandages also remained, to her relief. "What did you find out?"

The ex-priest threw a gun down on the table, and leaned in, sighing. "After you two went so heroically running out onto the street to cause chaos, I spoke with the Order. Apparently, they had been tracking the Pursuers, and knew they were tracking you, Chrno." His ice-blue eyes lifted, and fixed the two with a piercing look. "Funny how they failed to mention this to us."

Chrno's whole demeanor changed in an instant, and Rosette took a few hesitant steps back as she practically could see the aura radiating off of him…cold, lethal fury. His good hand clenched tightly in a fist, and she saw his shoulders tense up with anger. After several long tense moments, he whirled around and grabbed his day coat hanging on the rack by the door, and slammed his hat on his head. "Car. Now." He threw the door open and was gone in an instant, leaving his two partners to stare awkwardly after him.

"Good god…he's pissed."

"You have no idea…" Remington's voice sounded slightly awed, and a very tense. "He doesn't lose his temper often, but when he does… I would never seek to be in his way."

"He's really powerful, isn't he?"

"There are few who can match him." Remington agreed, turning around and offering a hand to her. "Come on. We need to stop him before he does something he'll regret later."

Rosette didn't need further urging.

* * *

The resulting explosion in the headmistress' office at the Magdale Order was enough to rattle the windows clear to the Elder's cottage across the grounds, as the mahogany doors creaked lightly, startling Kate, before they exploded outward in a shower of splinters. The figure that stormed in, made her knees grow weak, as she sank slowly back into her seat, as he stalked forward. 

Chrno was livid.

Everyone who had followed them in could clearly see the waves of black energy rolling off of him, as he strode forward, ignoring everyone who got in his way, as Remington and Rosette desperately tried to pull them aside so they wouldn't be harmed by accident. By the time they had reached the office, a small crowd of people were trailing them, several armed with guns as cries of alarm began to spread.

Chrno however, heard none of this, as he slammed his bandaged hand down hard on Sister Kate's desk, rattling every single item on it, and causing the Sister to gasp, with wide shocked eyes.

His voice was quiet, and leaking with deadly intent, but spoken so softly that everyone outside had to strain to hear.

"Seventeen people, Katherine."

Sister Kate swallowed hard, fear causing her limbs to freeze up, as she met those blazing ruby eyes, that were boring into her like a drill. "Seventeen. Dead." The silence that reigned in the room was stifling, as the power continued to crackle around him like a tornado. "Seventeen innocent people. For what purpose? Because you despise me? Is that it? Because you hate working with a demon THAT much, that you refuse to even give out information that might be necessary to defend others?" His eyes blazed brilliant gold, as they narrowed, becoming slit gems of anger. "Is that what the Magdalene Order stands for? Selfish pride above defending the innocent?!"

Kate's lips pursed a bit, as she slowly stood up, drawing upon the courage that hadn't fled when Chrno had stormed in. "Chrno, I have tolerated your indiscretions long enough…"

"NO!" He barked suddenly, as all the lights in her office suddenly exploded as the energy around him fluctuated sharply. "YOU listen!" He leaned forward, so that his face was only inches from hers, his features contorted in a manner that reflected his true self, though he was not in that shape. "I have dealt with your damned prejudice, pride, and discrimination against me long enough. I have been patient, and understanding. I have still continued to assist you however I can, knowing that what I did was more important than putting up with your attitude towards me." He drew himself up taller, his gaze bearing down hard upon her, causing the normally very confrontational Sister to cringe. "Open your damn eyes! Look around you!" His hand whipped out to the side, gesturing to the world outside in explanation. "What's going on is more important than petty differences between us!"

She scowled more, and leaned forward herself. "You expect me, a representative of God, to put my full trust in one who represents evil!? If the Vatican ever found out that we had been co-operating with you on matters of extreme secrecy…"

"ENOUGH!" His bellow shut her up promptly, as power exploded around him, and his form distorted as he practically exploded into his true form, wings opening wide behind him, and his eyes glowing a blinding golden as his corneas clouded over with their luminance. Everyone jumped several paces back, and some of the sisters who had never seen him like this, let alone seen any demon before, screamed in terror, and fainted. Rosette heard several guns cock behind them, and she and Remington both whirled, holding their ground to prevent the Militia from opening fire on the office.

Sister Kate had fallen back in her seat, staring with wide eyes at the demon towering before her, as he leaned closer, teeth barred with fury, as one hand reached down, clasping the watch tightly in his hand, and slamming it down on the desk, causing her to jump. "I've had enough of this. I'm taking her back. Don't try to stop me."

"Chrno, no!" Rosette finally couldn't hold it back any longer, as she realized he was swiftly making a big mistake. "This isn't what she'd want!"

He paused, and tilted his head slightly to the side, her words reaching him and giving him reason to pause long enough for Sister Kate to stare down at the watch with wide understanding eyes. "Chrno…please…calm down. Rosette is right, this will achieve nothing on either end."

Remington also stepped forward, keeping his tone level, and his demeanor calm. "She's right. Magdalena is safer here. If you take her away from this protected area, then you will be responsible for her…and you can't protect her like they can here. It's best to leave her in their care until it's safe."

Everyone's breath was held, as they watched the demon consider that, for a long tense moment. Then, his eyes closed, and his aura kicked down several notches and finally faded, as he opened his eyes again, and they were clear once more. But his irritation was still plain, as he straightened up, his wings dropping down a bit and blending back with his coat as he dropped his offensive posture. "And a bang up job they've done of protecting her so far." His voice was tense, and tinged with anger still, but calmer.

"You can't expect us to have just left her as she was." Kate said in a stern voice. "She wanted to return to you as much as you wanted to return to her. She kept trying to escape. In the end, she would sit for days, not eat, just staring out the window endlessly. She was wasting away as we watched… We had to do something."

"And the solution was to make her forget her life?" He spoke quietly, his voice sounded suddenly filled with pain. "Forget everything?" the unspoken was clear to everyone. _Forget me…_?

"Would you rather her suffer?"

His gaze lowered, and a pained look crossed his features. "No… of course not… but…it doesn't seem right to cage her like this."

Sister Kate sighed. "I know." She walked out from behind the desk, and hesitantly reached a hand out, pulling back for a moment, then seemed to overcome her hesitation of being close to such a powerful demonic presence, and gently touched his shoulder, peering over at him. "Chrno…You're right, I have been rather…closed-minded. I suppose I felt that, ever since you stole her from the Order long ago, you didn't have a right to her, with what you and your companions did." She kept her gaze even, even as he glanced over at her slowly. "But I also didn't really want to believe that a demon could experience feelings in the same way humans could…but I see now that I was very wrong." Her gaze fell to the clock still gripped in his hand, and she sighed. "So…you've bound your life to hers, to protect her. I should have suspected it when she stopped aging and did not grow ill. But…" She shook her head lightly. "I agree with Remington. You have a dangerous life. If you truly wish to protect her, then you'll leave her here."

His shoulders slumped slightly, and he sighed, looking defeated suddenly. "Ah…"

Rosette bit her lip, and watched him with sympathy. It must be so hard for him, being forced apart, yet so close. "Well… can't you at least let them see one another?" She spoke up quietly. "It seems really cruel. Wouldn't she understand, if he was able to explain things to her himself?"

There was a quiet silence, and the exchanging of a few glances between the members of the party, before Sister Kate glanced over at her, eyes soft and sad. "Rosette, I don't believe you understand the full situation..." She sighed. "However, Chrno if you would like to see her, I suppose it could be arranged."

Chrno's head lifted, his eyes widening a little. "You'll….let me see her?"

Kate's eyes softened. "I think we owe that much to you for everything you've done for us in the past 50 years. However, we can't risk her memory returning. You'll have to not disturb her solitude."

Rosette blinked a bit, the idea of him being that old sending shivers down her spine. For that matter, how old was he exactly? Demons were long lived…and she'd never heard of one dying from old age. So theoretically, he could have been around for a long time. She smiled faintly, and just pushed that aside. The look of relief, hope, and excitement in his eyes was almost like a kids' first Christmas. "I understand." he said softly, sounding only half-disappointed at the requirement.

The procession down the hall was a very strange one, to say the least. Sister Kate and Gilliam led the way, Rosette and Remington trailed Chrno who followed them, and behind them all, most of the order had gathered. The Militia had been ordered to put their guns away, but none of them looked that comfortable with a demon in their midst, and the sisters that peered out of every door and window watching them pass, were wide-eyed with surprise.

Rosette kept glancing at Chrno from the side of her eyes. It seemed strange…almost like a tragic love story out of a dime novel. A demon and his forbidden lover who happened to be a Saint. Her heart ached a little suddenly, and she caught herself, wondering why she'd suddenly felt so lonely.

The whole group came to a pause before a very large set of doors, which had a couple of wards on them, as well as sentries posted outside. Sister Kate didn't waste time in going forward, and unlocking the doors, unfastening the wards, and then stepping aside, to allow them entry into the room beyond.

Chrno's shoulders squared a little, and he slowly took a step forward, then entered the room. It was a long narrow room, barely wider than a closet. There was a row of benches similar to pews lined up against the wall, facing clear glass that opened up into a wide and very beautiful series of rooms.

The inside was very richly decorated, beautiful tapestries hung on the walls, curtains and ruffles of matching fabric adorned the window frames, and old fashioned knickknacks and pictures hung on the walls and adorned the furniture. The sound of a softly ticking clock could be heard, but no other sound penetrated the silence that smothered the room. Rosette's eyes roamed about the small viewing room, and saw the speakers. A one-way sound system, and she noticed the radio set into a control box in front of the window. There was a lock on the outside, preventing anyone from opening it to use it. It seemed communications were forbidden.

Chrno turned his head around, looking about him, a nervous expression on his features as he stopped, not certain where his quarry was.

It didn't take long.

Soft rustling of skirts were the first thing that caught his attention, and as he turned, Rosette's own breath caught, as she saw the woman whom had captured his heart so long ago.

No wonder… she was beautiful.

The light hit her in just the right way, that it made her pale hair that cascaded down her back glow with an ethereal light. It was as if her very soul was shining through the thin fabric that was her body. Wide luminous emerald eyes shone with a clear sparkle, that danced off the windows and hit her gown in hues of many colors. Her expression was neutral, her face very porcelain white, and Rosette knew instinctively that she wasn't the type who would have gone around blowing up demons, but would prefer to stay home, safe in a fancy estate.

But regardless, the expression on Chrno's face was enough to make tears spring to Rosette's eyes, unbidden.

"Magdalena…." His voice was soft, and gentle, warm and filled with all the emotions that had been kept inside of him for so long. It was longing, desire, sadness, and hope, all bundled into one tight tone.

Unfortunately, the woman didn't seem to be able to hear them, nor did she notice their presence. Rosette realized that the glass must also be one-way. She walked slowly about the room, a book in her elegant hands, shawl wrapped about her shoulders as she read, oblivious to the company. Still, Chrno seemed to be entranced. He stood there, staring at her without blinking, ignoring everyone else in the room. Rosette noticed that the other priests were watching him closely. Apparently, one of the reasons that they had never allowed him to see her, was the fear that with just one thought he could break through the glass and take her away again.

It was a very poignant experience.

After a few minutes, the woman made her rounds from the room, and vanished back into another section that was off limits from the viewing area, presumably her bedroom. Though there were plenty of windows here, they were high above head level, so that the woman could not see out into the grounds. She was an effective prisoner here. A prisoner for fifty years.

Chrno sighed, putting one hand to his face, trying to compose himself before he nodded to Sister Kate, and she led them back out once more, locking the room behind her.

"Thank you…" Chrno's soft voice could be heard as she turned, and saw he had slipped back into his human form. "This meant a lot to me."

"I'm sorry that it had to be this way…" Sister Kate was apologizing. "But, if she tried to escape again, it would just require us to wipe her memories a second time, and that would be traumatizing for her."

"I understand."

"The Order will of course help fund the restoration and damage costs to your building."

"Thank you."

"If there's any more information on more Pursuers, you have my assurances we will inform you from here on out."

"Of course."

Sister Kate inclined her head to them all, then took her leave, and the rest of the onlookers also began to disperse, leaving Remington, Chrno and Rosette alone with the Elder and Gilliam.

"Well then. Today didn't end so bad, right?" The Elder smiled cheerfully, taking something out of his pocket and peering at it. "Did you have a chance to test out the Spirit?"

Everyone coughed.

"I take that as a yes!" The Elder beamed.

"Man…" Rosette slapped the gun into his open hand and glared at him. "That thing is useless… the demon was almost as big of a problem as the Pursuer was. They took care of one another thankfully, but it nearly took us out too!"

"Hmmm. I'll have to work on that." The Elder mused a bit.

"Forget it." Chrno grumbled. "If we want to fight demons using demons, we've got that area covered."

"But.." The Elder spoke up with a frown. "It's risky for you." His gaze lowered to the burns on Chrno's hand. "As we can clearly see."

"It's better than doubling our adversaries." Chrno shot him a flat look. "From now on, I'll wear gloves."

* * *

Dinner that night was rather reserved. It had been a busy day, and everyone was deep in thought, as Remington splashed a pile of spaghetti onto Rosette's plate followed by a few rather burnt pieces of garlic bread. 

Her gaze slid over the table at the two detectives, observing them silently as they each sat, eating their food, and going over paperwork. It seemed odd… nothing had changed among them, since she'd learned the truth about each of them. They still behaved the same, sharing jokes and puns, going about their job as if they hadn't just destroyed the whole lobby by default. In fact, true to their word, the Order had contacted the building and offered to assist with financing the re-building, and as of that very afternoon, repairs were underway.

The deaths of the innocents were another matter.

Though Chrno had been very happy to enjoy the bliss that he'd been awarded by seeing his long separated lover, the euphoria had vanished once they returned home. She couldn't blame him, seeing without talking or interacting with someone that he'd dedicated his own very life to...Rosette couldn't imagine what it felt like. So, he had been very emotional and apologetic to the families of the dead once they'd returned to their building, and she knew that guilt was eating him up inside, despite the fact it really wasn't his fault. How could it be? He didn't kill them? He tried to save more innocents by drawing the battle away, and succeeded.

Somehow, she didn't think he saw it the same way.

So, when she heard the creak of the door opening down the hall late that night, she knew he was feeling restless. She hadn't been able to sleep, her mind too filled with information to make her the least bit tired, so she made up her mind, and followed him.

She was barely able to make out his form on the dark roof, as she opened the door and looked around, the lights from the city below illuminating the edges of the structure eerily. He was leaning against one of them, head tilted down, watching the city below, looking rather wistful, as the lights of the city flashed over his features, casting sharp light then shadows on his face.

What was his story? How had he met Magdalena? She recalled someone saying that she'd been kidnapped by the Sinners, but then what? Why had Chrno returned her to the Order and bound her life to his? Why was he so emphatic on guarding her, even if it meant them being apart?

She tugged awkwardly on her braid, wondering if she should disturb him or not. He was slouched there in just his pants and shirt, suspenders slouching off the side of his shoulders as he leaned over the ledge casually, the wind from below ruffling his short dark hair against the faintly pointed ears that she'd always found so…appealing. She blushed deeper at that thought, and took a step back, deciding she didn't want to interrupt his private thoughts, but unfortunately her foot had other options, as it tripped on her laces, and she went sprawling with a loud thunk.

"Ow…." She rubbed her bum with a grimace, and heard the gravel crunch nearby. She cast her eyes upwards and saw his curious face peering down at her. "You know, this is comfy gravel…." She commented cheerfully, relieved when he grinned widely at her, and offered a hand down. "Thanks." She grunted, pulling herself somewhat ungracefully to her feet. "What a klutz, Rosette…" She rolled her eyes, and heard him laugh softly.

"Ah, what would we do without you around here." He smiled in that infuriating way of his that just made her go woozy inside. "It's hard to imagine we could ever get along without your help."

She flushed more, quickly let go of his hand, and walked to the edge of the building to avoid letting him see her reddened face. "Geeze, you two musta been bored stiff without my womanly touches around this place. Just think, having to endure one another's cooking, and knowing YOUR touches, God help that Remington didn't die sometime."

Chrno snorted, and leaned on the edge next to her, his hands clasped loosely over the side. "I'm not so bad as that… I can bake decent cookies."

She rolled her eyes and smirked. "Uh huh. I'll believe that when I see it." She cast her eyes down at the streets, watching the cars go by below, their lights like small fireflies on a river. She glanced sideways at him, and saw his gaze was focused downwards as well, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Must be weird, huh?"

His eyes shifted up to hers, their ruby depths glittering at her. "Weird?"

She nodded down at the sea of cars, an amused look in her eyes. "You've been around a long time, right? Like, before the city looked like this…you must have seen a lot of things change over the course of your life."

His eyebrow raised, but a faint smile graced his features as he nodded. "It has changed… I didn't come to this city until more recently but…" He stuck his chin in his palm, and leaned there, looking reflective. "Before then, I remember when automobiles were a fantasy concocted in stories by Jules Verne."

She snorted. "That's right…it must have been weird, riding horses everywhere." She snorted a bit and then laughed shortly.

"What?" His eyes twinkled, amused.

"I just got a weird picture of you in a black gentleman's suit, and a top hat, escorting a lady in a bustle around." She snickered.

He laughed at that, and shook his head. "No, I never did that…" His grin widened. "I did however tour the West with a gun on my belt."

"You're kidding!?" She stared at him. "A real cowboy, eh?"

He smiled wider. "Yeah. I have photos to prove it."

"I'd love to see that sometime." She smirked a bit.

"I'll dig out the pictures from storage." He smiled warmly at her, obviously amused by her reaction.

They stood in silence for some time more, before she asked the one question that had been playing on her mind for several minutes now. "Hey… Chrno?"

"Yeah?"

"How old are you exactly?"

He glanced over at her, and gave her a pensive look, before shaking his head a bit. "Why do you want to know?"

"Well…" She played with the rubble on the edge of the ledge. "You know so much…and you've been around… And it just seems odd, talking to someone who might be God knows how old… compared to me, who's barely old enough to drive."

"It's not that bad." He chuckled softly. "When you have a long life, you tend to lean to take things slower, and enjoy life for what it is. I really don't know as much about the world as you may think."

"Still…."

He spread his hands a bit. "It's all relative, right? A day, a minute, a second. Each is just as important in the end." He ran a hand through his hair lightly. "But… to answer your question, I'm not sure exactly." He glanced her way. "Time passes differently, and is measured differently in Pandemonium. By the time I came to this realm, I'd spent a while down there, and have been up here for a while too." He glanced her way. "I would estimate to guess, between one hundred and two hundred years."

She felt her mouth drop open, as she ran that over. She'd thought he was old, but… "Holy crap…and ya don't look a day over twenty."

He grinned widely at her and laughed at that, leaning closer, his nose only inches away from her. "Don't tell anybody, they'll all want to know my secret."

She blinked a bit, taken by surprise at his attempt at humor. "Uh…like anyone would believe I hang out with a guy who probably shook hands with that jerk Custer or something."

He smiled and leaned back, chuckling. "There is that." He stood up straight, then stretched a bit, and suddenly turned towards her, a thoughtful look on his face. "Aren't you tired?"

"Nah." She shrugged. "So much has happened today, I couldn't sleep anyway."

He nodded a bit, then abruptly held a hand out to her. "I want to show you something. Do you mind?"

She glanced down at his hand, then back up, a curious feeling tug at her chest. "Uh, no I don't mind." She reached out and tentatively grasped his hand, giving him a curious look, wondering what it was he wanted to show her.

She soon found out that what he had in mind, wasn't taking her back downstairs to rummage through old photos, as he turned towards the ledge, hopped up, pulling her after him, and dove off.

"H...hey!!! Waitaminute!" She gasped, but too late as she was pulled over the edge with him, her stomach clenching as she felt nothing but air beneath her feet. She started to scream, her mind overloading and forgetting in the brief moment of life-preservation instinct that kicked in, just whom she was with.

His arms wrapped around her warmly, and she suddenly felt their fall arc, as the city ceased to be directly beneath them, and began to level out parallel. She gulped, and her breath came back to her in a rush, as the dizzying feeling of plunging towards the ground left her, replaced by that spinning motion of weightlessness that she had felt each and every time that she'd found herself in his arms before.

"Gah… next time… warn me before you do that." She gasped out, realizing that her arms were clutched around his neck like a lifeline. She quickly let go, and blushed, as he smiled down at her, his golden eyes glittering, as the moon glinted off the three gems studding his forehead. Her heart clenched again. Every time she saw him like this…it just sent shivers down her spine, in a good way. When she first had seen him, she'd been struck by how handsome the exotic features made him, despite the strangeness of the extra appendages of horns, tail and wings. Now, she just found they fit him better, and it seemed odd to see him without them.

"Sorry." He apologized, as their speed began to increase, angling up higher into the sky, away from the city. "But it was fun seeing your reaction."

She simply yanked on one of his long ears in irritation. "Yeah, really funny. Ha ha ha, hear me laugh." Her gaze turned away from him, as she watched the lights of the city spin away from behind them, and clouds begin to obscure the scenery as they leveled out, and nothing but stars and the moon loomed over them. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He answered with a wink. "It won't take long, if we put on some speed."

"Speed?!" She practically shrieked, glancing around watching the clouds race by. "How fast are we going to begin with!?"

He just smiled more, and she watched as his wings suddenly compacted streamlined next to their bodies, and a bright golden glow began to surround him. "Just hang on…."

The only sound that broke the stillness of the upstate New York night, was the shrieking of a blond teenager, as she clung for her life to her companion, as they rocketed forward like a comet in the night sky, a clap of thunder the only evidence of their passing, that few even witnessed.. unless they happened to wonder why such a noise would occur in a clear night sky.

* * *

_Revised: 02/07/08_


	7. Chapter Seven: Teardrops of Memories

**Demons Etc.**

_Chapter Seven: Teardrops of Memories_

_Authors new note: Good grief... you mean... she lives? Oh yes. Fear me. I'm retouching this fic, almost 4 years after I started it. Forgive me, real life problems, lack of inspiration and stuff got in the way, but... I'm back! Starting here onwards, I'm re-writing everything! Prepare for surprises, as I've changed the story._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! Moriyama-sensei does. Blame him!_

* * *

Few nights really stuck out in Rosette's mind quite like this one. The stars were shining so bright, it appeared that they were fireflies decorating the whole sky with their glittering glow. The moon bathed everything in a soft ethereal glow, sending silver light flooding below on the terrain, where a distant shadow was all that could be seen of their rapid passing through the chill of the night.

The cool breeze against her face felt good, but at such a rapid pace, she couldn't look directly ahead of her as they zoomed across the night sky. But she didn't mind the view to the side, below, above, and…. blushingly, behind her, as the dark demon continued to hold her close. His hair whipped straight streamlined back to his head as they shot through the air, and she watched as some of it tangled with the many gold rings piercing his long ears. It was odd, since normally he seemed the rather conservative, if rumpled, type…yet like this he almost appeared to be a wild punk from the moonshine underground.

By the time the moon was lower in the sky, Rosette was feeling sleep tug at her mind. The sudden jolt of speed decreasing, however, jolted her back awake, as their trajectory slowed, and his wings came out with a snap, causing her to cling tighter to him, as they abruptly slowed to a crawl, as they dropped out of their rapid pace.

"Where are we?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and stifling a yawn, as she peered around them. There were endless woods as far as she could see, some mountains in the far distance, and a dark blur beneath them that looked like a lake. It didn't look like anywhere near the city…

He smiled down at her, and his golden eyes glittered with amusement. "Michigan."

"WHAT?!" She choked, her mind overloading at that. They'd just crossed how many states….!?

He chuckled and winked at her. "Don't look so surprised. Now, hold on."

She glanced around, and blinked, as he abruptly dove downwards, causing her stomach to clench tightly at the plummeting drop. Her eyes shut briefly, but by the time she realized she wanted to see where they were, she felt a small tap, and then their motion stopped, as he lightly touched down, grass rippling beneath him as his wings lowered, and fell down beside him.

She breathed a faint sigh, as he bent down, letting her slip out of his arms, and she touched her feet to the ground, feeling a bit shaky since she'd been flying for hours it seemed. The ground swirled around her a bit, as if she'd been on a ship, before it steadied, and she glanced around her. They were in a dark grove of trees, the moon's light not penetrating down through the branches above farther than the first level of pines. All around, silence reigned, with the occasional hoot of an owl in the far distance.

She shivered a bit, glancing around. "Well…" She stated as he glanced down her way. "We're in Michigan… in the fall…. Where it's cold… in the dead of night…without a lamp." She glanced up at him, her breath frosty in the night sky as she shivered. "So…why are we here?"

"Because I wanted to show you something." He said with a quiet smile, then pulled off his long coat and handed it to her. "Here, if you're cold."

She took it, and wrapped it around her tightly, feeling the warmth seep into her, since he'd been wearing it moments before. It might have been sleeveless, but it was heavy, and helped keep her warmth close. "Thanks."

"This way." He held a hand out to her, and she grasped it, as he headed into the dark trees. How he could see in these woods was beyond her, but he led her through the brush easily, ducking to avoid branches, and warning her of roots, until they finally broke out of the underbrush, and into a clearing.

The first thing that struck her, was that this place was ancient. It was in complete shambles, obviously in a high degree of deterioration.

It was a small house, set up against the back of a hill, grass spilling all over before them like a carpet, sprinkled with fallen golden leaves from the shed trees all around them. The leaves made the grass seem to grow with a dim carpet of reds, which were muted silver in the night's light, and occasionally brushed up against the trees as the ringed the glade, spilling out into a vast dark lake beyond. A single wide rock bolder jutted out like a spire in the night sky, overlooking the dark waters that reflected the moonlight in ripples of silver. The light danced off of the windows in the house, some of which had long been broken and shattered, dusty and covered in cobwebs and mildew.

He strode forward, releasing her hand as he stepped into the moonlight, strolling casually across the glade, hands in his pockets, as his head rotated, glancing over to the lake with a wistful look.

"Well…" Rosette strolled out, glancing at the two-story house with some curiosity. It was one of those whose top level seemed more like a canopy with a roof, rather than a floor. "This is…interesting…. Now…why are we here?"

"Come." He held a hand out to her again, turning a bit. From this angle, his wings almost looked like a second cloak, against the dark clothing he wore. As she slipped her hand into his, he smiled warmly. "Watch your step. Some of the boards are probably rotten."

"No kidding." She muttered, but slowly stepped into the house with him leading the way.

It was darker inside than out, and Rosette had to squint around to see anything at all. As it was, she could only make out dim shapes of furniture along the wall, covered in dust. The whole place smelled like mildew, and rotting wood, but had that pleasant earthy smell that you wanted to breathe in forever.

Her eyes abruptly cringed, as a brighter light lit the interior, and she put her hand up to block the glow with a cringe. "Hey!"

"Sorry." Chrno apologized, not sounding the least bit so as he turned his glowing eyes her way. "If you'd rather have darkness…."

"No!" She rolled her eyes, poking him with an elbow. "Stop goofing off."

He just smiled, and then turned his gaze towards the ground, where she could see a broken trap door set near a rickety staircase. He bent down and with an easy move, shoved the broken pieces aside, and jumped down. She peered down, seeing the staircase was broken, and he glanced up her way, holding his arms open for her to jump down. She blushed suddenly in the dim light, glad he couldn't see, as she landed smoothly in his arms.

He scooped her down, letting her stand, and began to rummage around in the back. She coughed a bit from all the dust. "How on earth did you come across this place?"

"I used to live here." He replied, pulling some crates aside with a heavy choke of dust that sent them both coughing.

"Really?!" She coughed, sneezing again, and waved the dust out of her face. "How long ago?"

"About fifty years." He crouched down, eyes blinking a bit in the dust, and tore off the lid of the crate with a yank. She could hear him sorting through some things, then he pulled out a dark heavy object, and stood. "Here we go."

"What is it?" she coughed, and squinted forward as he faced her.

"I'll show you." He smiled and held a hand up to her. "Back up there, there's more light."

She nodded and let him catch her supportively, before they slowly rose back up on a buoyancy of astral energy, re-emerging on the bottom floor swiftly. _Geh, no matter how many times he does that, it's still amazing._

They stepped back outside, and he walked over to the jutting rock overlooking the lake, and sank down with the black object on his lap. She sank down next to him, and peered at the object, as he slid the cover open in the dim moonlight, and the light from his eyes. It was a photo album, quite well preserved actually, considering how much ruin the basement had been.

"You wanted to see pictures." He smiled glancing over at her. "So here you are."

She took the album from him, and opened it curiously. Sure enough, the first photo in there was of a group of people, all in old western clothing, Chrno standing in the front row, laughing as he was being clung on to by a small girl with glasses, and a tall man with short white hair.

White….hair?

She peered closer, eyes widening. The vague differences were there, but she could see the similarities as well. Though his hair was shorter, and he wore no glasses, she could definitely tell that it was the same man from the photo back at headquarters.

The man with Joshua.

He saw her pause, and grow quiet, and leaned over, peering at the photo and seeing what she was staring at. "Ah…"

"You were friends?" He nodded faintly. She stared down at the picture with a mixed feeling in her chest. They looked so happy there… She had no idea who the others were, but she noted that they all had small oddities about them that made her want to believe they were all demons. The six of them looked as if they were the best of friends however, and it made her wonder where he'd roped a photographer to grab a picture of them all.

She flipped through a couple more pages, smiling as she saw various scenes of them laughing, drinking, and a few very dashing serious poses. They all looked happy and energetic, and as she turned the page, she saw something that made her heart thump a bit. It was a picture of him….with Magdalena.

She closed the book quickly, not really wanting to look any more. "You sure looked dashing with guns strapped to your belt." She joked mildly, glancing up his way. "Kinda still do that, dontcha."

He smiled at her, and glanced out at the lake with a small smile. "I guess it never wears off. It was a fun era."

Her gaze slid back to the house. "So you used to live here, huh? All by yourself?"

"No." He smiled mildly and stuck his chin in his hand lightly.

She didn't inquire further, knowing what his answer would be anyway. Her gaze turned back to the lake. It was calm and placid, and the sun was starting to come up in the distant mountains beyond, spilling pink and peach light across the sky. This place…. She could see why he liked it. It was peaceful, calm, and pristine.

"So…" She finally spoke quietly, realizing with a bright blush, how close she was sitting to him. "Why here of all places?"

"Ah well…" He looked thoughtful. "Circumstances… and…" His eyes lowered to the lake slowly, glazing over a bit. Abruptly, he stood up, startling her a bit, as his wings snapped open, and he lowered a hand to her. "There's… one more thing I want to show you."

She frowned up at him. "Something else?"

"It's… the real reason I thought I'd bring you here." He said quietly.

She felt her cheeks slowly begin to glow again. Just WHAT was he suggesting. Her heart beat quicker at the thought, and she began to feel lightheaded, gazing up at his exotic features.

"Come on."

She gulped, but forced her blood back to her heart, and grasped his hand, watching as his talons curled lightly around her smaller one, and he pulled her up, pulling his arm around her waist supportively. He lifted into the air, hovering just a small distance from the surface, and began to fly over the water, his feet just barely skimming the water's placid exterior. She glanced around, wondering why he was taking them out into the lake, when he stopped suddenly, hovering directly over the water, then dropped.

She gasped, half expecting the icy water to clutch her, but was surprised when his feet hit something hard, and they stood there, on the surface of the water, as if it were perfectly normal.

"Uh….last I looked, you weren't God or nothing…" she managed, staring down with wide eyes. It looked as if he were simply standing on the surface. "So how…."

"Look closer." He urged, setting her down, to her surprise. However, her feet did not pass through the water either.

She bent down, as his hand remained on her shoulders just in case she took a wrong step. At first, she couldn't see what he was urging her to see in the dim morning light. All that she could see was the dark abyss plunging below their feet. But as she knelt down a little, she could see there WAS something there after all.

A BIG something.

In fact… it nearly took up the whole lake.

"Wholly crap…what the heck?" She asked, when he grinned a bit, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hold tight."

"Wah!" She barely had time to gasp, before with a strange distortion of the air around them, she found her whole world wrenched aside, and skewed briefly, before it re-organized around her, and left her head spinning. She opened her eyes, only to find murky darkness surrounding them. The air smelled musty, and old, tinged with dampness from the lake, and dust. She could hear the distant sound of water dripping somewhere off in the background, and the sound of creaking metal as the water pressed in from all sides.

They were in a huge dome of some sort, beneath the lake.

She let out a shaky breath. "Wow….um… ok. What is this place?" Her voice echoed oddly in the wide space, and she shivered a bit in the damp air, pulling his coat close around her.

"It's part of the reason that Joshua is with Aion." He spoke quietly, pushing a button on the wall to the side of them. Instantly, the whole dome lit up with brilliant green light, spilling from lamps mounted on the walls all around them, and inlaid in the steel workings that held the panels of glass up above them.

Her heart sped up a bit, as she took a couple steps down the stairs into the bottom area of the floor, looking around. The reason Joshua was with Aion….? This place looked like something out of a Jules Verne novel, with mechanics and equipment scattered all about, half broken, half sodden. It was clear that whatever this place had once been, most of it wasn't functioning any longer. "Is it… some kind of hidden base or something?"

"Something like that." He stepped down beside her, and glanced around, a nostalgic look on his face. "It was a flying fortress called Eden, long ago."

"Well it ain't flyin' no more." She grinned over at him. "Who sunk it?"

"I did."

She blinked, a bit surprised. "Any reason?"

He ran a hand through his hair, glancing around with a frown. "Yes…" His wings dropped a bit, and she sensed a sudden feeling of nostalgia from him. "It was a conflict of interest between us."

"Between this Aion and yourself?"

"Yeah."

She frowned a bit, watching him. Despite what she'd found out, there was still an aura of mystery around him. What had caused a powerful demon to fall in love with a human, and give up everything for her? Why did he continue fighting, just for the chance to be with her again? Did he really care that much for her? Why did he dedicate so much of himself to that single cause.

"So…" She paused before a broken console, putting her hand upon it. "What is this place then? Just a secret base?"

"No, it was more than that." He said, turning and gesturing for her to follow. "Let me show you." He turned down a dark corridor, and she followed him through some of the twisting passages, until they reached a smaller chamber, riddled with wires and mechanics. But in the center, was a scene that froze her heart still.

A woman's head.

She gasped as a cold feeling clenched her heart, and she found herself clutching onto his arm tightly for support.

"It's all right." His voice was soft and re-assuring. "She's dead."

"Who…was she?"

"Pandemonia…the demon queen."

Her heart clenched in fear at that. "You're joking…." The woman's face was serene, calm, with two sloping horns that curved far back off of her head, attached to many wires and strands, all of which were dormant, their glow long lost. "Why on earth… HOW on earth… I mean…."

"It's a long story." He said with a sigh, staring at the object of their discussion with a mixed expression on his face. She could see sadness, anger, and disgust. "To put it shortly, I believed in the dream that Aion had….believed that it would better everyone. But then, I discovered what he truly intended, and knew I had to put a stop to it."

He gestured out. "You wanted to know the reason we're known as Sinners. That's the reason. Together, the six of us rebelled, murdered her, and left Pandemonium."

Her jaw dropped, and she felt the warmth flood from her face. Such a thing… It was almost unimaginable to picture. She glanced up at him, and discovered that she was having a very hard time grasping that concept. He seemed so nice and gentle…sure he could be a terror if he wanted to in battle, but… To have done what he claimed he did with those others she could only assume were the other Sinners, the ones from the photographs, it blew her mind.

So they were murderers…and traitors…

She was aware he was watching her, and she tore her gaze from the preserved head of the Queen, and managed to meet his eyes. "You okay with this…?" He said softly, concern etching his features. "I know it's a bit much."

"Um…" She lowered her eyes again, and swallowed. "Yeah it's just…Yikes. So, what was his plan…?"

He shook his head. "He wanted to destroy everything, in order to make everything whole…equal… The ideal world, free of the fighting between heaven and hell….it sounded great but…" He sighed. "In order to bring it about, we had to destroy the world first. That just didn't sit well with me."

"No shit…" She muttered. "So what'd you do?"

"Put a stop to their options." He said gripping a first tightly. "And hid this thing where they couldn't find it. Because if they couldn't find it, then they can't continue with their plans."

"But how does my brother fit into this mess?"

"He has special powers, like Azumaria." Chrno glanced her way meaningfully. "He's an Apostle. There are seven of them, all of whom are needed for Aion's plan to come into effect."

"But if he can't find this place then why is he after them?"

"Because…. I knew one day, our dear companion would slip up, and lead us right back to Eden." A smooth silky voice rang through the hall behind them, bringing a ring of joviality and amusement into the dark atmosphere.

They both whirled, but as they did, Rosette watched as a flash of light shot out towards them both. A rough shove threw her to the ground in an instant, as the light rocketed by her only to slam into her demon companion as he released a bellow of pain.

Her head jerked up, in time to see several sharp blades piercing clear through Chrno's body, as he stumbled to his knees, wincing in agony. Three demons surrounded him, each with their limbs trained on him, pierced into his body preventing him from moving. Rosette gasped, her breath holding in fear, as her eyes jerked over from the bloody scene, to land upon a single figure, standing in the doorway behind them, bathed in the faint green glow from the large chamber behind him.

He was exactly as he looked in the photograph, only the aura radiating off of him was deadly and gave her the distinct impression that the relaxed smile on his face was a mere farce.

"Chrno… It HAS been a while, hasn't it." Aion spoke smoothly, coming to a stop before the crouched demon, as he glared up at the intruder with angry eyes. "I'm surprised at you… you haven't been this careless in a long while, or we would have found you earlier. You've managed to hide from us this long…why now? Why all of a sudden?" He slowly pushed the rectangle glasses further up his nose, causing them to glint reflectively in an eerie manner. "Though I must thank you. Without that delightful display the past couple of days, we would have still been clueless. Thankfully, Sheda's detection techniques are far superior to your pathetic attempts at hiding your aura from us."

"Aion…." Chrno growled, spitting some blood out, and trying to pull the bone-like blade penetrating his chest, from a large bulky demon's arm as he hovered behind him. "How the hell…..?!"

"Come come!" The tall man stooped down, cupping a hand around Chrno's cheek and forcing his head upwards. "We haven't been sitting around playing chess for nothing these past 50 years, Chrno. You on the other hand, seem to have gotten in the habit of relying on human weapons to fight your battles… you've grown incredibly sloppy. I'm amazed you didn't detect us following you sooner."

Rosette grit her teeth on the side. The nerve of this man! How dare he come only to gloat over the hard work that they'd put into everything… as if it were nothing! She forced herself back up to her feet, ignoring the nasty bruise that was bound to form on her arm from the fall she'd taken. "Hey, specky. Who the hell do you think you are, waltzing in here and just doing as you please!?" She reached at the side of her waist for a gun, only to feel nothing there. Of course, she hadn't brought it. They had only been going on a short trip, there had been no need.

Slowly, the man turned towards her, an amused glint in his eyes. "I remember you… You're the young man's sister, are you not."

"What have you done with Joshua!?" She growled, taking a step forward. "Where is my BROTHER!?"

He regarded her with a quiet glance, violet eyes piercing over the rims of the glasses, and chilling her soul abruptly. This was NOT a man to mess with… She took a step back reflexively.

"Your brother is quite safe, young lady." His cool voice rang through the room piercingly, sending chills down her spine. "I take care of my wards…." His eyes suddenly glittered dangerously. "And I'm amused to see that you do the same." His eyes flickered over to Chrno, as the demon glared up at him, palms beginning to light up. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." His hand came out with a snap, and a gleaming black blade appeared in his hand, aimed directly at his throat. Chrno froze a bit, staring up at it with a faintly confused look, as if doubting what a simple sword could do to stop him. "I'm not a cruel man, Chrno. I don't seek to deliberately hurt others." Aion was continuing smoothly. "However, you and your selfish actions cost me dearly. Not only in precious time, but in defenses. We've had quite a rough time hiding from Pursuers without our base to shield us. And that angers me greatly." His eyes narrowed over the glasses rims. "I have no desire to kill you flat out, for perhaps your mind can be changed once more, and you can see the foolishness of your actions. However…I cannot have you as a thorn in my side trying to thwart me again."

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do you know what these are?" He picked one of the studded gems in the sword's hilt and held it up, allowing the dim green light to glitter off of it. "A Jewel. But not just any jewel. One imbued with the power of summoning astral into a form of a being to use to fight. Incredible devices, perfected by a certain family whom I believe you are familiar with." At the narrowing of his eyes, Aion smiled. "Yes, you do know what I'm talking about. Excellent." He slid the jewel back into its' setting. "These precious stones are quite amazing little devices. They can either expunge energy out of them enough to rival any demon, or they can absorb astral to charge their forms. So you see… If you were to attack me, I would be forced to use this delightful property of the stone, to drain your own essence dry. And that would be a pity, seeing as I still have need for your services."

Chrno's eyes narrowed further, but the glow in his palms stopped. "What do you want?"

Ion laughed. "You have the gall to ask me that?" He spread his free hand outwards, his aim on the blade at Chrno's throat not wavering. "I want Eden back. I want the Apostles in my hands. And I want YOU…" He growled, eyes suddenly narrowing further. "…to suffer the same humiliation you gave me 50 years ago."

"I didn't…."

"Stop this farce, Chrno." Ion's voice lowered dangerously, interrupting his protestations with a near snarl. "You intended to put a stop to our plans, and you did so wonderfully." He leaned forward, the blade pricking the demon's throat, and sending rivets of blood trickling down his neck dangerously. "Where is she, Chrno. Where have you hidden her?"

A slow smile spread over Chrno's features, and Rosette felt the pride in his voice as he spoke, tone taunting. "You think that I would tell you? Just like that? You really must think I'm a fool."

Rosette had the sudden sneaking suspicion that the demon was very glad that he had not taken Magdalene away from the sanctuary now… it seemed the warnings of Sister Kate and Remington had been correct.

Aion's gaze hardened at that, and he closed his eyes briefly, a faint sigh crossing his features. "No… I suppose you are not a fool." He straightened, and his eyes re-opened, locking on the golden gaze of the demon across from him with deadly intent. "I'm giving you one more chance, Chrno. Be thankful I'm being so generous. I could just take what I want without consideration. I'm making you an offer first."

"You can taunt me all you want, but I will not betray her trust."

Aion slowly pulled back, the sword leaving Chrno's throat. "Very well. It seems your stubborn streak is not to be defeated. I had hoped you might be willing to reason with me. But, if you insist on this course of action, then so be it. Suffer the consequences."

The dangerous tone in Ion's voice made Rosette's heart clench with sudden fear. He was going to do something horrible…

It was one of those rare opportunities when you wished you were wrong.

Swifter than a flash of light, the sword in Ion's hands pierced right through Chrno's chest, as the dark haired demon grunted in pain, his hands coming up, beginning to glow again, despite the warning he'd been given.

He never got the chance.

In all her life, Rosette would never hear another scream so agonizing, as the one that ripped from his throat like a howl, as Ion's two hands locked tightly around the twin astral consumption horns on Chrno's head. With a violent rending of power, blood, and light, Rosette stumbled back as a small explosion blew her into the wall, sending shivers of fear up her spine, as something warm and wet struck the side of her face. It took her a few long, agonizing moments to realize that it was blood….

Chrno's blood.

Ion stood with his back to the scene, casually brushing off his coat, which was splattered with dark stains that marred the white fabric eerily. In one hand, were two slivers of bone, gleaming dully in the green light from the room, covered in spatters of red. He slowly turned around, dabbing his face with a handkerchief, behaving as if this was a daily occurrence. However, the menacing look in his eyes was enough to pierce straight through the soul.

Chrno was hunched over, blood dripping from both sides of his head, where his horns had once been attached. His whole body was shaking with convulsions, and an icy feeling crept into Rosette's heart as she realized with horrified shock that he was dying.

"Chrno!!!" She screamed, launching herself forward, as the three demons that had been holding him still, removed their weapons from his battered body, and stepped back. She only just managed to catch his shoulders and cradle his head in her lap before he hit the metal catwalk. "Chrno!!" His eyes were half-lidded, and she could see the golden orbs beneath were glazed over from shock, as his breath came quick, and shaky.

Her head jerked up, as hot tears splashed down from her eyes, mingling with the blood spattered on her face. "You…. MONSTER!"

Aion simply peered down at her, a look of mild amusement painted over his face. "Young lady, I did give him a fair chance. In addition, it's no less than what he did to me." His eyes flashed in a strange way.

"You said you weren't going to kill him!!" She screamed violently at him.

"And so I did not…yet." He drawled slowly. "I have no intention of allowing him to die."

She struggled to hold back the sobs that threatened to overwhelm her. "What the hell are you talking about! Without his horns…!"

"He will die." Aion said smoothly. "Unless, he has another source of power to draw from."

Her breath caught suddenly. _"Normally…it's designed to facilitate power to a demon who's lost his. It…can also act as a liaison in another way. In this case…It allows me to guard someone else's life with my own."_ Oh God.

His eyes regarded her with amusement, weighing her reaction. "Yes. If you want to save him, it's the only way."

Her eyes jerked wildly down to the glinting gold clock cinched about his belt. It's face was splattered with ribbons of blood that gleamed crimson on it's burnished face. "But…if I do that then…."

"The other contract will be severed." He continued for her. "But if you don't sever it, then you'll simply be allowing him to die, and freeing her soul from his protective grasp. Either way, the contract will be broken."

Her heart pounded in her chest. This wasn't right… how could she make such a decision for him!? Her eyes spilled the tears that had been gathering, and a few struck Chrnos' face, causing him to blink, and stir in her arms, trying to sound out some words. Her gaze ripped down to meet his, and she saw distant desperation in his eyes.

God…she couldn't lose him.

Her teeth grit tightly. She had no choice. Her head lifted, blue eyes burning coldly as they met stormy violent violet ones. Her expression said it all, clearly what she thought of him. He didn't seem to care, however, as he smiled patiently at her. "Well, young lady? Will you allow him to die? Or will you save him?"

"Screw you." She growled, before reaching a hand out and grasping the cold metal timepiece tightly in her hand. Her gaze lowered to meet his, and she smiled sadly. "I'm sorry Chrno. But I won't let you die. Not after you've jumped in and saved my life God knows how many times…" She watched as his lips moved, and his hand twitched, trying to reach up and stop her, but he was too weak. "I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you see this through alone. Besides, if you die, she'll be sad…" She added as an afterthought, a sad smile playing on her lips.

Mournful understanding crept into his eyes, and his hand slowly closed around hers as she held the clock. She smiled sadly, and lowered the clock to his chest, as his hand guided hers, until the clock suddenly snapped open at his chest.

The moment it opened, she saw the difference in it's synchronization. Instead of bright red light, the energy surrounding it was an intense green. Patterns of runic design began to creep over his chest, lit up with the bright light, that seemed to meld into the metal's contents. Wind began to kick up around them, and as she leaned forward, hoping she was doing the right thing, the pain hit her.

It was unlike anything she had ever felt before….and not unlike the feel of a loaded gun slamming into her chest. She gasped in pain, as light exploded in her vision, and a violent wrenching began to twist about her chest. The scream that ripped from her throat barely reached her ears as she wasn't even aware that it was coming from her. It felt as if her entire body was being rendered asunder from within….

And it was all she could do to stay conscious, as the light rippled around them intently, until finally dying.

All that met her eyes as the brilliance faded, was darkness, as she slumped forward, joining Chrno in blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

_Revised: 02/08/08_


	8. Chapter Eight: Contract

**Demons Etc.**

_Chapter Eight: Contract_

_Authors new note: Good grief... you mean... she lives? Oh yes. Fear me. I'm retouching this fic, almost 4 years after I started it. Forgive me, real life problems, lack of inspiration and stuff got in the way, but... I'm back! I'm incorporating serious changes and re-writes from here onwards, so be prepared t be surprised!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! Moriyama-sensei does. Blame him!_

* * *

White fog drifted around in riveting traces, swirling around her mind like ghostly images, teasing and taunting as they danced around her vision. She felt so sleepy… so distant… everything around her was far more surreal than she expected, and it took her some time to realize that she was actually awake. 

Her eyes slid open, and her first impulse was to cringe. Bright light streamed in from a window above her, dancing across her face showing dust particles floating around in the air around her. She slowly blinked, not really understanding why she was laying in a bed, in a strange room…

It hit her like a sledgehammer.

She bolted upright, which was a horrible idea she realized, as the room sharply spun around her wildly. She clutched her head and fought the urge to heave, as the dizziness clutched at her like a smothering blanket. She squeezed her eyes shut, and gasped as the dizziness spun around her, then slowly faded as she stayed in the same position. She let out a slow breath of air, and clutched her chest tightly.

Was this what it was like to have your soul drained?

She slowly slid out of bed, and blinked down at her clothing. Someone had taken the time to change it, clean it, and given her another set. It was a little baggy in some places, namely the chest, and a bit short on the legs, but it generally fit, though there was a draft in the seat of her pants that made her wonder.

Where was she…. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was intense pain, and seeing Chrno's face in front of her, before she blacked out…

Chrno…

Her heart clenched, and she instinctively looked around, but she saw no sign of his presence… She squeezed her eyes closed, and clutched a hand to her chest, and was startled when she felt something cold at her chest. Her gaze dropped, and stopped upon the glittering gold timepiece, that lay closed on her chest. She blinked slowly then wrapped a hand around it tightly. So…it really had happened then.

A tight pressure in her chest caused tears to spring to her eyes again. What had she done? In order to make the contract, the previous one had been canceled by default… he was no longer protecting Magdalena. Instead…it was her who was protecting him…with her own life.

She angrily dashed the tears away. This wasn't like her! Damn it, she had more pride than this. There had to be a way to reverse the contract, given enough time. That had to be the answer.

With that thought, she threw the door open, and stalked out into the hall beyond, head held high.

She was totally unprepared for the scene that befell her.

Her knees felt weak, as she clutched to the railing, staring down, as the world spun dizzily beneath her, an occasional cloud drifting by lazily beneath them. Holy cow…they were floating on air…

The railing felt a bit rusty under her grasp as she leaned there, and she knew instinctively that this was Eden…flying in the sky once more.

She closed her eyes and let her forehead rest against the railing. Dear Lord…

"Hey." Came a quiet voice behind her, startling her into alertness, as she lifted her head. A small girl stood there, about her height actually, but…well greatly more proportioned. But that wasn't the key element that startled Rosette… no, it was the feline ears and tail that made her eyes bulge a little with surprise. But this didn't seem to bother the girl, as she adjusted a pair of wide round glasses on her nose and cocked her head at the young blond woman. "I had the feeling you'd be waking soon." She smiled cheerfully, and stuck her hands in her lab coat pockets.

Rosette dimly recognized her, she realized. Though, in the picture, she had been a fair bit younger, and her ears had been hidden beneath a wide brimmed hat. Still, considering how much time had passed, she didn't look as old as she should. With a sigh, Rosette turned her body to face the feline. "So…you guys got it running again then."

"Mmm…" The response was neutral, since the answer was plain before them. "You've been asleep for a few days, we had plenty of time."

"Where's Chrno?"

The feline sighed, and took her glasses off, polishing them with a sleeve. "Rosette. You did the right thing you know. You couldn't have helped him any other way in this situation."

"I don't care for your empty apologies." She snapped rather harshly. "This whole thing could have been solved another way if you ask me."

"You don't understand the whole situation."

"Nor do I care to." She scowled. "All I care about is the welfare of….of Chrno." She caught herself before she said something she regretted, however the keen look the small figure gave her showed that she perhaps knew more than she let on. "Now, where is he?"

The feline ran a hand over one of her ears and gave her tail a quick swish. "Aion was right…." She sighed and turned around. "Come on, we might as well bring him breakfast while we're at it. You can grab a bite too."

She sighed a bit and fell in step beside her, feeling animosity towards the small feline leading her. It couldn't be helped, they were the enemy…despite how kind she may appear towards her. They were all working towards one goal…which went against everything that she…and Chrno…fought for. Yet…somehow she felt a bit bad for her… She cleared her throat a bit. "What's your name…?"

The feline looked up at her curiously. "Sheda."

"You've…known Chrno for a while, haven't you?"

"Yep. Since we were small."

"So… why are you working with Aion to do this?"

Sheda regarded her with a thoughtful look. "Rosette, you must understand, there's more going on here than you know… Chrno once was our friend, and worked with us… but since…that time…. He broke away." She smiled sadly. "I hate to see what's being done to him, but… it's for his own good in a way."

"I find that hard to believe." She snorted a bit.

"As I said, it's complicated." Sheda stopped and turned to face her, tail twitching. "Lord knows, if there were another option, I would have urged Aion to take it…however, he tends not to listen when his emotions are involved. That's one thing they have in common…perhaps the only thing, aside from their stubborn personalities."

Rosette frowned at her. "Why are you helping him? Do you really want to destroy the world!?"

Sheda sighed. "…it's more complicated than that…" She squinted up at her. "Let's not worry about talking about this right now…You're still tired from forging the contract, you'll feel better after you eat." And with that, their conversation was ended.

They entered the kitchen, and for the first time, Rosette came face to face with the three demons who had participated in the confrontation several days ago. At first, no one moved, as two pairs of eyes, and one head tilted her way, regarding her with neutral expressions, before each of them returned to what they were doing. The woman with a cold face, and just as cold beauty returned to reading a paper, the large man turned stirring something on the stove, and the other man seated at the table returned to sipping his coffee. They all pointedly ignored her.

Sheda walked over and gathered some food from the large man, setting it on a tray and then hurrying back, handing one to Rosette with a smile. "Come on. This way." She turned and slipped out, and with a final glance back over her shoulder at the three demons, Rosette followed.

It didn't take them long, as they wound through the empty corridors that appeared to be in bad need of cleaning, until they reached a dank hall, where a dark door gaped open into what appeared a small room. As they approached, Rosette could hear a familiar mellow voice talking, in a rather annoyed tone. The words weren't clear, but they didn't need to be. She had a feeling she knew what was being discussed.

She was surprised, however, when a tenor voice of someone who sounded younger than herself replied in a furious tone, something scathing back which only made Aion laugh coldly. With that, the tall demon strode out, and faced them, raising an eyebrow at Sheda, before fixing her with a very amused glance, and brushing by without a word. Rosette's blood boiled as she fought not to snap something heated at him, as his violet eyes studied her before he swept by, his long trailing white hair sweeping around the corner.

"Come on sweetie." Sheda said elbowing her. "Don't let him bother you. He's just a bit sore over this whole thing still."

"Right…like I'm not." She growled, but turned and stepped into the room with the feline demon without glancing back at his vanishing frame "Damn him…" Her voice trailed off slowly however, as she looked within the room.

She slowed to a stop, and nearly dropped her tray right then and there.

A boy about the age of ten was sitting on a small bunk against the wall, holding one knee to his chest, with a gloomy expression on his face. He was vaguely familiar, but Rosette couldn't quite place who he was at first. He wore a simple white shirt and rumpled pants that looked too big for him, someone's hand-me-downs. His violet hair was rather tousled and tangled, and his face scuffed with dirt, but the moment he lifted his head and his sorrowful ruby eyes met hers, she knew.

Her hands slowly lifted to her mouth, and the tray fell clattering to the ground at her feet. "Oh my god… Chrno…"

Sheda winced to the side. "Ah… I should have mentioned this before bringing you here…" She bent down and began to pick up the splattered dishes from the ground with a sigh and a mutter, as she complained about having to clean the floor now.

Rosette heard none of it. "Chrno…what have they done to you…?" Her mind was reeling, as she stared at him, not quite willing to fully accept that this was the same person. But somehow, the sad expression in his eyes was enough to convince her, though the whole situation seemed beyond her grasp.

He favored her with a tight, forced smile, and slid to his feet, his head only coming to her shoulder, but his eyes touching her to her very soul. "Rosette…" His voice was not quite as deep as she was used to, but she still heard the same tone within it that she would recognize no matter what he looked like. "They didn't…" But his voice was cut off as she launched her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder as she began to sob, each gasp wracking her body as the whole situation overwhelmed her. A pained look crossed his face, but he slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and drew her close, letting her expel the emotions built up inside.

Sheda left them to themselves, stepping outside and closing the door slightly behind her. It took a little time for her sobs to ease, and in truth she had no idea what about the situation had prompted her to just burst like this…but as she finally felt the sobs cease to shake her shoulders, she felt a little better within. She slowly pulled back, and wiped her eyes, realizing that they were now sitting on the bunk, and his hands were clasping hers tightly, in a re-assuring way. She lifted her eyes up to meet his, and he favored her with a faint smile, that attempted to cheer her up.

"Rosette…It's not entirely a bad thing." He spoke softly, his crimson eyes searching hers as a slight curious frown played up on his brow. "It could have been worse."

"But…" She felt a choke rising up in her throat again, and fought it down with a calm breath. "Look at you…"

"It's just a side-effect of the seal." He said reaching forward and pulling the clock dangling about her neck forward. "When the clock is sealed, it means I can't access astral… Which also means that this way, I don't pull more than necessary from your soul. I could take my older form, but that would require more power." He put his hand over the clock and pressed it to her chest with a gentle hand, peering up intently into her eyes. "Rosette…what you did…"

"I'm sorry." She looked away, interrupting him. "I…didn't want you to die. It wasn't fair…I know that I just ruined everything you had with her but…"

"Rosette!" His voice was firm, and startled her a bit, but brought her babbling to a quick halt, as he pressed a hand to her cheek, drawing her chin down to lock her eyes upon his. "Stop." His eyes softened, and just that simple gestured caused her to slump in defeat. "Rosette, listen to me." He urged quietly. "You saved my life….by sacrificing your own. For that…there's nothing more precious than that, and there's no way I can repay you." His eyes softened more. "It's okay that the existing contract was broken… She's still alive…and in truth, I shouldn't have been keeping her alive that way for this long to begin with…" She saw heavy regret cloud his vision, as his eyes dropped. "Thank you…."

Rosette watched him with a sudden sad understanding. "Chrno…"

He quickly looked up, and she thought for a moment she saw brief moisture glistening in his eyes, which vanished as he squeezed her hand lightly and slid to his feet. "Things could be worse. You're okay, I'm okay. That's all that's important."

She pursed her lips a bit, and sighed, but squared her shoulders. He was right…it could have been worse. They both could have been killed. This way, at least they both lived, though the situation was less than ideal.

Sheda stuck her head back in and shoved a new breakfast tray into Rosette's hands. "Eat. You too, Chrno." She winked at him cheerfully, though Rosette could still see a haunted reserved look in the feline's eyes. Obviously, her loyalties were torn. She sighed, but began to eat, realizing as she did so that she was indeed quite hungry. To the side of her, Chrno also ate in silence, until they had finished, and her hands returned to being clasped in her lap.

"So now what do we do." She stated rather bluntly, turning her head towards him. "Are we prisoners here then?"

"No." Chrno said quietly. "Aion's not going to lock us up…we're free to leave if we choose."

She blinked a bit. Well that was rather odd. "What's he playing at? He goes and does all this….then says 'oh go ahead and leave'? I don't get it."

Chrno smiled faintly up at her, standing and sticking his small hands into his pockets. "Well, he achieved what he needed to do…retrieve Eden, and neutralize me."

She cringed a bit at that and bit her lip. "Oh…right…Sorry." She apologized faintly, rubbing her head with her palm in irritation. "I guess there's no reason for him to want us then…"

"No, not really." Chrno sighed.

"Well… I'm not leaving without Joshua." She stated firmly, standing up and giving him a piercing look. "Once we find him, then we can go."

"He's not here."

She blinked and stared down at him, pausing in the doorway as she headed out. "What?"

He glanced up her way, shaking his head in negation. "He's not here. I already asked. Aion has no need to lie of course…since there's no way we can find him anyway." He sighed. "Joshua is with a couple more apostles, being hid somewhere else in the country."

"Oh." Her shoulders slumped a bit. So it wasn't going to be that easy, then. "Well then." She straightened right back up, fierce determination filling her like a burning flame. "We'll just have to go hunt for him ourselves then."

He looked a bit surprised at first, but then smiled and nodded his head with an encouraging smile. "Right."

--- ---- ---

Ewan Remington paced back and forth in front of the messy desks within the office, in a frenzy. _Where are they!? Why now!?_

"Ewan, please calm down."

"I can't!" He exploded, running a hand through his hair. "This is the worst possible turn of events! I'm not prepared for this!"

"Ewan! You need to calm down. We already offered our assistance to you, we can handle it!"

He threw himself in the rickety plush chair, and let his head bang back against the wall. "Our top two exorcists are missing… and there's a big crime ring that just was uncovered. How much worse could it get?"

"We're back!"

The door was thrown open, which only succeeded in shaking more piles of paperwork over onto the floor, and caused both Sister Kate and Remington to lift their eyes, blinking, as Rosette swept into the room, with a wide grin. "Didja miss us?"

"R….Rosette!" The shock on their faces gave way to sudden relief. "Where have you been!?" Remington jumped up. "You two were just… gone! There's a crisis on our hands, and you went gallivanting out to God knows where…."

"Hey, ease up pal." She snapped, shoving him back. "We've had a rough couple of days, and I'm exhausted." Indeed, she was amazed she was managing to stay standing, considering how lightheaded she felt.

He sighed a bit and put a hand to his head. "Well, as long as you two are all right….where's Chrno?"

"He's gone to change into something more… appropriate." She sighed a bit. "Um. There's something you guys should know…"

"Whatever it is, it can wait." Remington pulled a thick folder out. "We have to get cracking on this. As soon as Chrno gets back we should go set up a sting operation and…" He trailed off slowly, and came to a rapid halt in mid-stride, his gaze locked on a single small figure who had stepped into the office with a stoic expression.

Sister Kate turned around and blinked. "Hm…? Who's…?"

Rosette sighed a bit and rubbed the back of her head, shaking her head as she exchanged a look with a horrified Remington.

"Our apologies for taking so long." Chrno said quietly, tugging on the shirt around his neck as he fixed the loose tie there. "Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances arose."

"Oh god…" Remington slowly sunk down into his seat, his face deathly white. "Please tell me you're like this for a reason other than what I fear."

Chrno sighed slightly, and stuck his hands in the red coat he'd adorned. "I'm afraid not, Ewan." He shook his head and favored the assistant detective with a sad smile. "We're in for a change of era."

The man's face sunk into his palms with a groan.

"Hey, it's not that bad." Rosette growled, a bit irritated. "You guys are SO melodramatic. Come on, so he's lost a couple feet in height. No big deal. We still got our weapons."

Remington lifted his head and stared at her, his blue eyes rather haunted. "Rosette… you don't know…"

"Ahem." Chrno cut him off with a sharp look. "That's enough. There's nothing we can do now about it. Let's just move on and figure out our options."

Sister Kate was staring at him oddly. "Chrno…? It's truly you? Why though….?"

Chrno averted his eyes a bit, as Remington sighed and pushed back in his chair. "Because we knew this day might come one day…it doesn't mean we're any more prepared for it."

"Prepared for it?" Sister Kate seemed to be having trouble understanding what was going on. "Prepared for what?"

"For the time when I might lose my horns." Chrno replied quietly, taking a seat nearby, and clasping his hands together. "Between Pursuers, Sinners and random rogue demons, I'm honestly surprised it never happened sooner." His eyes got very dark suddenly. "The problem is, what do we do now."

Remington glanced up, worry in his eyes. "Indeed…whom did you…" his eyes drifted over to Rosette, and his gaze softened. "Ah… I see….her."

"Yeah me, buster." She growled. "And none of that pity crap, I'm glad to help out, got it?"

A faint smile lit Remington's face in understanding, and he favored her with a nod. "Very well then."

"Will someone explain this to me!?" Sister Kate spread her hands in frustrationn.

* * *

The night swiftly overcame them, as the explanations wound down, leavening them with only their thoughts and considerations. Dinner was a somber affair, with burned green beans and undercooked steak, since Rosette hadn't quite mastered her culinary skills. However, no one seemed to mind, as their thoughts were far from their stomachs, and forks only poked at the food irritably, not consuming it. The silence nearly drove her mad, as Rosette glanced between the two men, er the guys, watching as they pointedly avoided looking up.Geeze, what the hell? It's not like the world's gonna end… 

But somehow, she couldn't force herself to say anything brash to try and cheer them up. She understood that loosing horns was a serious thing to a demon…and had it not been for the little invention that now dangled around her neck, it would have spelled death for her boss.

But still…they were behaving far too gloomy for her taste.

So when the alarm suddenly sounded, startling all three of them into dropping their forks abruptly, and in Remington's case, snorting his drink out his nose, Rosette was glad to jump to her feet and grab the phone.

Within seconds she slammed it down and whirled around to the two detectives who were watching her expectantly. "It's time for some fun!" She grinned fiercely. "Seems some ol' friends of ours are shakin' things up downtown. You boys up to some fun?"

Remington put a hand to his head in exasperation, but Chrno's eyes brightened considerably and a smile played at his lips. That was enough incentive to shove Rosette into full on battle mode. "RIGHT! LET'S GO!"

The screech of the tires as they pealed out of the garage nearly caused several pedestrians to scream in alarm, as Rosette took them squealing around the corner, and down the cobblestone streets heading for their quarry, with a car loaded with guns and ammunition.

THIS was the life.

It didn't take long to find the center of the disturbance, namely since so many people were fleeing from it in the first place. They screeched to a halt, and nearly slammed into the stack of crates piled on the sidewalk, before pouring out. Rosette grinned, whirling around as her jacket flapped in the warm smoke-filled breeze. This would cheer her up… just blast a few of those nasty buggers into oblivion.

"Hurry up, Chrno!" She called back, whipping out a couple of Sacred guns. "Bring the ammo!"

The small demon sighed a bit. "Hey, since when did I become the baggage boy…"

"Since you became a liability to fighting." Remington shot back with a teasing grin, taking her side.

"Hey!"

The two blonds laughed, and after short glances, they took off down the street, leaving the small violet haired boy to grumble as he strapped the ammunition case to his back, and jogged after them, panting a bit on shorter legs.

The scene was a virtual inferno engulfing a large downtown building structure. From the looks of it, it had been an abandoned where house, but the structure was so immolated, that the other buildings around it were in danger of being consumed. Several dark shapes were soaring about in the air, laughing as they tormented some of the few people left in the area, who were running in terror.

"Ah, I love the smell of demon ashes in the evening." Rosette grinned, as she cocked her gun, and aimed it directly into the sky at the nearest one, pulling the trigger the moment it swooped down close into range. With a howl, the demon's wing disintegrated as it plowed into the wall with a crash of mortar and brick.

"Let's try to cause minimal damage this time, shall we?" Remington suggested, tucking his collar in primly as he loaded his gun. "We're still paying for our share on the lobby repairs."

"Aww you're no fun."

"I'm simply being realistic. We have backup supplies, but if we continue to cause more damage than demolish demons, we'll be going under."

"Still, yer no fun." Rosette shot him a snort, before turning the corner and peering at the demons gathering in a tight circle. "What the hell are they doing here? There's no one around…"

"No idea." Remington mused. "Normally they don't co-operate on a goal unless it's for a reason. Is there any artifacts in this area they might be pursuing?" He glanced down at Chrno as the small demon stuck his head around the corner beneath the two.

"No….not that I know of. And I can't sense anything different." He replied with a slight puzzled frown. "They're all lower class Legion too…no real purpose in teaming up, yet they seem to be co-operating."

"Some kind of convention maybe?" Rosette suggested. "Well, let's not stand around to ask 'em shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, she brought her hand up, and aimed her gun directly at the group, and with an almost gleeful grin, began to fire.

Remington and Chrno both exchanged embarrassed looks at one another, not sure what to make of their trigger happy assistant, before shrugging, and joining the fray.

As extermination jobs went, this one was a walk in the park. The Legion didn't know what hit them, nor put up much of a fight, which as Rosette reflected upon lowering her gun, was a very strange thing.

"Is it just me…or did that seem far too easy?" she strode out into the square, kicking at a pile of ash that was the only remains of a demon, and fixing the two detectives with a frown. "They didn't even put up a fight."

"It did seem a bit rushed." Remington added. "But there were three of us with advanced weapons…"

"ROSETTE LOOK OUT!" The assistant exorcist whirled, in time to have Chrno's small body collide with hers, knocking her flat to the floor, as a flaming ball of fire slammed into the wall behind them.

Her breath was nearly knocked clear, as her back hit the street, and they went skidding several feet along the slick damp pavement, just shy of the fireball.

Remington threw himself aside, narrowly missing being hit himself, and whirled around, gun raised as a large demon materialized out of the smoke.

**_Wherree…._** It's voice was eerie and dripping with malice, as it slowly advanced, each step sending rivets of fire streaking out on the pavement beneath it. **_Whereeee is shee Our mother…._**

"What the hell!?" Rosette managed to gasp, as she choked on a mouthful of Chrno's hair, shoving him off of her roughly, to reach for her own gun.

Remington beat her to the punch though, as he pulled the trigger, and a Gospel plowed into the monster towering over them, as it gave a bellow or rage, before exploding in a fiery shower of sparks that made them all wince as embers touched their arms. They all threw hands up to block the brilliant blinding flash from their vision, as the demon faded into the night, almost as brilliantly as it had appeared.

"Well. That was fun." Rosette stated flatly, pushing herself to her elbows, and brushing off her shirt with a sigh. She glanced over at Chrno who was rubbing his elbow, which had a torn sleeve in his jacket. "You okay?" At his nod, she pushed herself up. "Okay… did anyone else find that a little bit weird? Some big bad demon comes up, and cries for his mommy."

"Maybe he was feeling insecure?" Chrno suggested giving her a quick grin, closing his eyes in good humor.

"Oh right. Let's just send him to counseling then." She muttered. "No extermination necessary, just hire a shrink."

"Well we've seen weirder things." Remington suggested.

She shook her head, and shoved herself back up, and headed back to the car since they were finished here. "Don't start."

Their trip back was a bit more relaxed, as she and Remington exchanged their usual jibes with one another, enjoying to nettle their egos. Neither of them noticed the sudden quietness of their smaller companion, as his dark eyes looked deeply troubled, staring out the window.

* * *

_Revised: 02/08/08 _


End file.
